You Are My Way
by Autumn's Thief
Summary: AU. Set during the Crusades. Xena and Gabrielle are sent to awaken two guardians caught in a spiral of hate, violence, betrayal, vengeance, and greed. Will they complete their mission? Will the soulmates find each other again or be lost forever? Will God's will prevail or will mankind succumb to Satan?
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note:

This story is set during the time of the Crusades and is centered around all things spiritual (angels, demons, God, etc.). I try to keep a balance between historical accuracy and entertainment. Although religion/spirituality is the center of the story and its historical backdrop, it is a work of fiction. **This story is not meant to promote or condemn any religion or set of beliefs.**

There will be some violence, cursing, and romantic scenes. Nothing really extreme or excessive (it's all pretty much in line with what you would find on the show).

* * *

_Once, a long, long time ago, all people had four legs and two heads. And then the gods threw down thunderbolts, and split everyone into two. Each half then had two legs and one head. But the separation left both sides with a desperate yearning to be reunited. Because they each shared the same soul. And ever since then, all people spend their lives searching for the other half of their soul._ - Gabrielle.

* * *

"What is this godforsaken place?" the young squire grumbled, stumbling down the narrow, rocky path.

"Do you think it wise to use the Lord's name in vain on a pilgrimage?" an older squire walking in front of him loudly retorted, "You insolent little sop." he added in a mumble under his breath.

The thin and slightly worn line of travelers warily snaked its way down out of the hills. The surroundings were uninviting, rocky with sparse brush. The horses and carts kicked up dust all around them and the sun beat down on them relentlessly. It was nothing like the desert oases described in the stories they heard. They all quietly prayed to finally reach their destination safely.

A sudden growing rumbling of hooves coming from over one of the hills told them that this time their prayers would remain unanswered. The group of pilgrims stopped their caravan and turned to watch the ominous, thundering dust cloud approach. A group of marauders swept down the hills, yelling and swinging their swords that flashed in the hot sun. To the exhausted and foreign pilgrims they looked like mad demons who came straight down from the dark storm clouds gathering and swiftly advancing on the horizon. They had heard the stories of marauders attacking, robbing travelers of everything and murdering everyone if they so choose.

These pilgrims ignorantly traveled without any real escort, but it didn't matter to Karas for whom the spoils were more important then the honor of the fight. As the marauders closed in, the pilgrim women huddled into a circle as far from the attackers as they could while the armed men readied themselves. At first, the bandits simply circled the group, whooping and brandishing their swords, knowing very well that the fact the travelers had weapons didn't mean they knew how to use them.

"Well, let's get the heathens!" the young, grumbling squire foolishly cried, drawing his sword and letting desert hell break loose.

To Eden it didn't matter anymore. More fighting, more killing; it was all just more waste. She didn't rush in like the rest of the band with a charge of vicious energy. Instead, she dismounted her horse and walked up towards all the mayhem. One of the women in the party, dressed in a green dress with a bag slung across her chest, noticed Eden on the horizon, a different and darker marauder from the rest of the band and she was strangely awestruck for the figure was almost an evil sight to behold.

The heat rose from the ground and the dark bandit came forth like a nightmarish mirage being molded into a reality. The garments were all black from the boots to the turban, the loose material flapping in the desert breeze and making the marauder look even more demonic. Black, leather scaled armor was all the armor worn and from a thick, black belt hung a broadsword. The silver hilt was the only color other than black, except for the eyes of the marauder that watched with a gaze that seemed to pierce anything it touched. The angry fluttering of the black material covering the rest of the face only made the gaze more bone chilling.

The woman noticed the black bandit approaching with such calm that it was beyond simple determination; she was approaching with the emptiness of lack of purpose and the woman could almost feel her hollowness, it was so vast and loud. The woman in green looked on in startled fascination as Eden slowly unsheathed her sword in a manner that brought a chill up the spine. She walked almost straight into the middle of the battle without the slightest disturbance. Suddenly, the young squire who had started the whole frenzy jumped in front of the black bandit, pointing his sword at her menacingly. She barely acknowledged his existence. He continued to swing his sword around, trying to provoke the black marauder into a fight.

"Come on, heathen. Taste my Frankish sword." he taunted.

"Really?" Eden muttered and raised one eyebrow, sighing loudly.

She took her sword and struck it into the sand. The young squire knotted his brows in surprised confusion and looked at the black bandit with uncertainty. An evil look slid across her face and she outstretched her hand in front of her and then beckoned him to come at her. Yet he stood in place, unable to read the bandit's intentions.

"Come on now, you're not afraid of a...woman, now are you?" she sneered with an evil calm.

His eyes grew wide and then he grit his teeth and charged at her, yelling wildly. She showed no emotion, there was no crack in her cold and calm demeanor as she watched him hurl forward and at the last moment, she took a step sideways and elbowed him in the temple so hard that he flew to the side, dropping his sword. He landed on the ground with a large, heavy thud and before he could gather his wits, her boot was on his throat and his sword was pointed in his face.

"Well, that was...challenging." she mocked and the squire began to struggle in anger.

"Ah, ah, ah," she said, waving one finger in disapproval and putting more force on his neck, "I wouldn't do that if I were you. But then again, fortunately I'm not you." she teased.

In a quick motion, she pulled out her dagger with her free hand, lifted her boot off the man's neck and knelt next to him, putting the dagger at the side of his neck and the sword under his chin.

"Now tell me, oh brave and gallant warrior, what should I do with you, hm?" she hissed into his face. "Kill you now or let you go and kill you later?"

The squire's foolish bravado disappeared when he felt the blade tips on his skin. He began to tremble, looking into the steely gaze of the midnight phantom.

"You, you're the Black Watcher, aren't you? Please, please don't kill me." he begged.

"Oh, the pleading type, my favorite." she said, rolling her eyes.

She glanced at the others and saw that the rest of the fighting travelers were already either on the run or lying dead or wounded. She suddenly felt tired and indescribably irritated.

"If you do everything else the same way you fight, then I'm surprised you're still alive you boring, idiotic bastard. Now, I'm going to tell you what to do you little horse's ass and you're going to listen, alright?"

The squire nodded, his eyes wide with fear.

"Good, you're not as stupid as you look. See, I'm having a particularly...interesting mood today so I'm going to let you go and you're going to get up and run for your life as fast as your pathetic little legs can take you, understand?" she stated and pushed his sword against his chin a little harder for emphasis.

He nodded fiercely. She smiled coldly, took the weapons away, and got up. She tossed his sword back at him and then turned away. As she was sheathing her dagger, the squire scurried back up. He breathed heavily and the fear in his eyes turned into wild anger and with sword in hand, he charged her from the back.

"No!" the woman traveler, who had been observing all this from a distance, instinctively cried.

The black bandit had already sensed the presence of the charging squire. She calmly pulled her sword out of the sand and neatly turned around, letting him impale himself on her blade.

"Seems you're much stupider than you look, canis." the black marauder said to the dying squire, pulling her sword out of him sharply and letting him roughly drop dead on the sand.

She then turned her gaze to the direction of the cry and caught the eyes of the woman watching her from afar. The woman in green gasped, but the marauder didn't move or speak. That small moment which was inconsequential to everyone else left an imprint on the minds of the two women when their eyes locked. Despite the woman's fear and the bandit's disregard, something passed between them on the thread of that gaze though so minute that it was barely noticeable. Eden wondered why she had been warned and so did the woman in green. And after that fragile moment passed, Eden simply turned away.

The black bandit calmly walked back to her horse and when she reached it, took out a cloth from the saddlebag and wiped her blade before sheathing it. She was wary, she simply wanted to reach Antioch. She wished for this little raid to end quickly so that they could be on their way and she lightly caressed the dagger beneath her cloak. She has a destiny to meet. The heat, the fighting, the world made her immensely tired and she leaned on the side of her saddle with one hand and pulled away the fabric mask off her face with the other as if she had trouble breathing. The staring woman in green gasped inwardly when she finally saw that the terrifying black marauder was a woman.

When all the men had already fallen or ran blindly across the desert, Karas shifted his attention to the group of women who had herded themselves next to the only cart which hadn't overturned.

"Well, look at what we have here." he sneered.

He rode up to the woman in green who looked to be the most sophisticated of the group. She tore her gaze from Eden and turned it to Karas as he reached out to touch her face. She slapped his hand away.

"Oh, feisty, I like that." he simply replied, his sneer growing wider with his men now circling the women and jeering.

"Stay back, infidel." the woman warned in a quiet, but steady voice and suddenly brandished a dagger.

Eden took notice as did everyone else. It was a mistake to pull a blade on the raiders; it was an even bigger mistake to use the word "infidel" so readily for it was not a word taken lightly in these parts.

"Wench!" Karas yelled and backhanded her with his mailed fist so hard that she fell over onto her back.

The woman yelped, hit the sand, but almost as soon as she hit the ground, she groaned and got right back up again, standing defiantly against Karas, dagger still in hand, oblivious to the cut and quickly growing welt on her cheek.

"Oh, you like it hard? That I can deliver." he sneered and dismounted his horse. He walked up to the woman in about three big steps. She raised the dagger at him with a stance that showed both her defiance and lack of experience in fighting. With another backhand he knocked the weapon from her hand and with a punch to the face she flew to the ground with a loud groan. She spit out blood from her cut lip.

"You like that? I have more where that came from, latin whore." he spat out and started stomping towards the fallen woman who was trying to stand back up again.

Watching all this and reacting unconsciously, Eden approached quickly and suddenly stood between Karas and the woman, which she knew was a dangerous position to be.

"Out of my way!" he yelled and tried to push Eden away yet she caught his hand and stopped him.

"Karas, it's just some merchant's daughter. The men that ran across the hills, they were squires, one of them will have more on them than all these maids put together. Not to mention the wealth they carried." she explained, motioning her head to the trunks in the carts.

She knew that Karas was all about profit, looting, and pillaging and she watched him trying to decide whether to teach the annoying woman a lesson or simply gather everything up and visit the tavern in town earlier and in a better mood.

"They will fight to the death-" the woman in green began to cry when Eden interrupted.

"Shut up before I cut out your tongue and make you swallow it!" she shouted straight in her face with a tone and gaze that pushed the woman back down onto the ground. Karas grinned at the sight.

"You go after them, they haven't gotten very far. I'll... take special care of this annoying little harlot." Eden said quietly, turning back to Karas and he grinned wider.

"You heard her, let's go boys, we've got cowardly squire to catch!" he yelled.

"Zauba'a! Zauba'a!" the men cheered at Eden, raising their swords in the air and she lightly gave a flick of her hand above her head in acknowledgment.

The marauders yelped and shouted, spurring their horses and forming into a tighter group. Karas got on his horse and galloped off, the rest of the raiders following close behind him and leaving behind a flurry of stones, twigs, and dust. The moment the marauders rode away far enough, the rest of the women started to either run in no particular direction with a squeal or break down and cry. Eden threw them a cold look of sarcastic pity, rolled her eyes, and mounted her horse and started to ride away.

"Wait! Wait!" the woman in green yelled, running after her until Eden stopped.

Eden spun around.

"What is it?" she asked impatiently.

"What about me?"

"What about you?"

"Are you just going to leave me here? Out in the desert with no horse and no escort?"

"Well, yes." she retorted and turned the horse back towards her destination.

"You can't do that! Please, don't leave me here!" the woman screamed, falling to her knees.

Eden turned around again a second time.

"Look, I have no quarrel with you. But I have no use for you either."

"I can give you money for your troubles. Jewels, trinkets, whatever you want." the woman offered energetically.

Eden flashed a short, sarcastic grin.

"Look your majesty, just because I ride with those men doesn't mean that I think like they do."

"If you don't then why do you keep their company?"

The honest yet shrewd reply escaped the woman's lips before she could check herself and Eden was annoyed.

"Maybe your sharp tongue will help you out of your predicament." she shot out and started to turn her horse around again.

"No, please!" the woman cried with exasperation and raised her hands in the air in a show of peace, "Please. Please help me."

Eden glared at her hard. She just wanted to go, to walk the rest of her path, to follow the rope to the end. She finally looked into the woman's eyes for longer than just a moment and couldn't help but notice their distinct green. _Like __an oasis in the middle of this godforsaken dirt._

"What exactly do you want from me?" Eden asked, somehow not being able to tear herself from that green gaze.

The woman looked at the black raider. She really was a rather terrifying sight to behold. Dressed like death, she rode a horse that was even darker, a shining black like a crystal night sky. All that could be seen of the woman was her face and all attention was automatically drawn to two piercing, dark blue eyes that looked like they could penetrate a person's being to later tear its heart out alive. Yet the woman could swear that she saw some faint and distant glimmer of something else in the far corners of those eyes, something she could not at all describe, but something she somehow put her trust in despite everything.

"Just take me to the nearest town. That's all I'm asking. I won't be a further bother. Please."

Eden sighed deeply. Then the horse suddenly interrupted the conversation by slowly trotting up to the woman, something he never did and Eden knotted her brows and pulled back on his reins. She considered his actions for a short moment and then turned back to the woman.

"As long as you don't pull your dagger on me."

"As long as you don't call me a harlot and threaten to cut out my tongue." the woman returned, but in a sudden, slightly playful tone and Eden didn't know whether to slap the woman like Karas did or simply laugh and turn away.

"I can't decide," she began, leaning down on the pommel of her saddle, "whether you are incredibly brave or incredibly foolish."

"Probably more of the latter." the woman replied in the same tone and turning her head to one side.

Eden leaned back in her saddle and huffed, lightly amazed by almost everything in their conversation and especially by the fact that the woman didn't seem to be terrified of her. After some deliberation and the horse's impatient plodding about, she thrust out her hand and the woman got to her feet, grabbed her arm, and not without some trouble, hoisted herself onto the saddle in back of Eden.

"What about your...comrades?" the women in green asked after she had adjusted herself in the saddle as much as she could.

"Comrades?" Eden echoed sarcastically, raising one eyebrow, "Oh, they'll be just fine without me."

Eden took the reins, nudged the horse around, and they started down the road to Antioch.


	2. Chapter 2

They rode in silence, the only noises being the dirt beneath the hooves of the trotting horse and the desert breeze. Eden appreciated the quiet, the lack of the constant jeering or whooping, the release and expanse she felt riding without the others. And though her body was stiff in control over the horse and awareness of her surroundings, a part of her mind relaxed, letting itself wander out to the horizon and back again, burying odds and ends of thoughts in shallow graves along the way.

The woman shifted uneasily on the horse, unaccustomed to riding this way. She began to feel every stone and dip in the road and desperately searched for something to take her mind off her hurting back and rear.

"I don't think I had a chance to properly introduce myself," she started and didn't see Eden roll her eyes when she extended her hand, "I am Arielle of Avignon."

"Arielle of Avignon." Eden simply repeated, ignoring the hand.

Arielle pulled her hand back after a while with a sigh. She waited a few moments, but finally realized that the rider had no real intention of carrying on the conversation and she bit her bottom lip lightly, trying to think of a way around the problem.

"Avignon is so much different than this place," Arielle tried again. "It's so far from these lands. It's a part-"

"Of the Holy Roman Empire. I know." Eden interrupted roughly.

"Oh, well, yes. Have you ever been there?"

"No."

Silence passed over them again. The storm clouds that had earlier only been on the horizon were now looming closely, threatening to catch up with them. The warmth of the now smothered sun was disappearing and the gathering breeze began to sneak through Arielle's dress. A cool gust sent a small chill up her spine and involuntarily made her move slightly forward against the warmth of Eden's back. She felt the rider jerk away at the touch and she pulled back immediately. After a moment or two, the rider returned back to her position.

"Which town," Arielle started, trying to escape the awkwardness of the situation, "are we going to?"

"Antioch."

"That's exactly where we were all headed!"

"I know." Eden replied with a disinterested sigh.

"In Antioch we were to split up. Some of us, myself included, were going to journey onward to Jerusalem. We were on a pilgrimage, you see."

"Ah, a woman of God..." Eden remarked.

"Well, yes." Arielle replied, knotting her brows, not knowing what to make of the comment. "Is that something strange?"

"No," Eden answered, shaking her head slowly, "you are one of many."

"Well, Jerusalem is the mecca for the reverent."

"Looking for God, finding those like Karas." Eden said absently.

"Well," Arielle explained with a hint of pride in her voice, "though I would have rather not met them, those raiders aren't going to make me turn back. Journeying down God's path is rarely simple."

"Naturally." Eden remarked, not even trying to hide her sarcasm.

"Are you a non-believer that you're mocking me?"

"First of all," Eden said, pulling up on the reins until they came to a stop and turning around towards Arielle which made her a little apprehensive, "I'm not mocking you...yet. Second of all, I know of God; we have a relationship the both of us can hardly stand; third of all, I think we might have to find shelter from the storm."

Arielle opened her mouth to comment that there was no storm, but was interrupted by a roll of thunder.

"See what I mean?" Eden added, raising one eyebrow and flashing a cocky grin.

Arielle only nodded silently and Eden turned back around and nudged the horse forward again. Arielle tried to decide what the rider did more, amaze or annoy her. She had a strange honesty in the way she was, but her insolence was much more than anything she was used to. A new, much fiercer gust of wind brought her out of her thoughts and she instinctively pulled the collar of her dress around her neck and cursed herself for having left her cloak behind.

The clouds made good on their threat and large drops of rain began to slowly fall. Fortunately, Eden knew the road well and remembered that there was an old, abandoned hovel not far off where they could seek shelter. She turned her horse and nudged her off the road and into the rocks and brush. Arielle began to grow a little nervous; she was in a thunderstorm in the middle of the desert on the back of a horse that was being ridden by a black bandit who was now taking them off the road. She held the saddle a little more tightly; the horse's trot quickening with the intensifying rain. A quick, but loud peal of thunder scared a small shriek out of her. Eden paid her no mind, focused entirely on navigating the larger stones and getting to the hovel as quickly as possible. They reached it just in time.

Eden walked into the one room hovel after having tended to her horse just as the clouds gave way to a downpour that Arielle had never witnessed before.

"We'll wait out the storm here." Eden said after shutting the door behind her.

She saw Arielle standing in the middle of the room, not knowing what to do with herself and apprehensively looking at her.

"That is, of course, unless you want to continue." Eden drawled sarcastically.

"No, no." Arielle said quickly, trying to contain her nervousness. "We'll stay here."

Eden walked over to the table standing in the center of the room and slid her saddlebags off her shoulder,placing them on the tabletop. She dropped herself into one of the two dusty chairs and leaned back, resting her feet on the table. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Arielle carefully sit down on the other chair at the table, resting uncomfortably, her eyes falling everywhere, but not on the dark bandit. She looked so lost and out of place, like a puppy in the middle of a forest, that it produced a small inward smile of sympathy in Eden.

The storm soothed Eden. For a few moments, she rested her head on the back of the chair and closed her eyes. Nearly any kind of sound of water had this effect on her and she listened to the pelting rain, the rushing of the water cascading down the walls of the hovel and she relaxed as much as she was able to. It felt nice; she found a peace in the ability of water to wash everything away.

Another loud crash of thunder shook the hovel and Arielle let out another shriek and Eden opened her eyes, turning to her. Arielle covered her mouth, embarrassed by her outcry and looked at Eden timidly. Eden regarded the woman's face and the wounds on it with a look that made Arielle feel like she was being judged for all her past and future sins and she squirmed slightly under the gaze.

"You took a good beating." Eden finally mentioned.

Arielle's expression turned to one of acknowledgment; she had almost forgotten. She raised one hand to her cheek and touched it too roughly and winced.

"Yes, it seems so. Is it really bad?"

"You'll live." she replied roughly, but after a few moments' afterthought added, "You should see to that cut though."

Arielle could feel the large welt that had developed on her cheek and the blood that had dried around it. She looked around the hovel and found a small mirror lying on a little table next to a wash basin. She got up, took the mirror and brought it back to the table. She then took the bag she had slung around her the whole time and removed it, taking out a handkerchief before placing the bag on the table. She began to tentatively try to clean the scrape, but each movement she made seemed to send a flash of pain through her face. She shyly glanced at Eden and then gasped.

During this time, Eden had unwrapped her turban and stood, unbuckling her sword belt, leaning her sword against the table when Arielle looked at her. Eden regarded her harshly and was about to ask with annoyance what it was that had scared her now, but after a moment decided against it. She looked at the wound again and saw that Arielle had little idea of what she was doing. Yet, Arielle had forgotten the handkerchief in her hand and the scrape on her cheek; she was overcome again by the raider's presence. The removed turban had uncovered raven-black hair, straight as an arrow and down to her shoulders with shorter fringes over her forehead. It spilled over her head like a black velvet curtain and seemed again to only exist in order to emphasize her enrapturing eyes. Arielle finally closed her eyes and shook her head lightly. She opened them again to see Eden still regarding her closely and she swallowed.

"Could you...?" Arielle tried to ask shyly, raising the handkerchief in her hand lightly, "No matter what I do, it seems to hurt a lot."

She saw no change in expression in the raider and she sighed quietly, resigned to taking care of herself as best she could. Eden contemplated her internally. There was a pure innocence in those green eyes that made the raider take notice; she hadn't seen it for such a long time. She examined the woman looking up at her. A slim, elegant figure in a pale green dress with a fabric and cut that screamed 'gentry'. Her emerald eyes, sharp but kind, gleamed out from under blond hair that ran down the length of her back, a long braid running down the middle. Eden would have said she looked like a fairy of the forest if she believed in them. The raider couldn't help but notice how ridiculously out of place Arielle seemed at that moment, but felt a tiny ray of respect for the blond because, despite all the circumstances, Arielle hadn't given up unlike the other lady companions she had been traveling with. _This rain calms me too much_.

She saw Arielle put her hand with the handkerchief back down with resignation, sighing and slumping her shoulders.

"Here." she said shortly and picked up her chair and moved it next to Arielle, who sat up straight in excitement.

She sat in the chair, sideways to the table and then turned Arielle's chair to face her with little effort which produced a look of shock from the blond.

"First, you need some water." Eden instructed dryly and reached over to her saddlebags and pulled out a waterskin.

She stretched out her hand for the handkerchief which Arielle gave to her. Eden dampened it with some water and turned back to Arielle when she suddenly stopped. Arielle looked at her in confusion, watching her eyes rapidly dart into the corner of the room and twitch in what seemed to be anger. Before she could react, Eden took a deep breath and looked back at Arielle with unnamed purpose.

"It still might hurt a little, alright?" she said quietly and with an unreadable expression.

Arielle looked at her curiously for a few, very brief moments and then lightly nodded her head.

Eden then leaned in a little and began to carefully clean the wound with precision and concentration, touching her as little as possible. As Eden's hand danced around the swollen scrape, Arielle wondered how this person who seemed to be just another lost, ruthless ruffian could be so gentle. The same hands that had no doubt reeked much violence were now covering her face ever so lightly and trying to heal. This simple exchange between lady and raider was beyond anything she was able to fully grasp. There was tenderness and death in the same hands, regard and apathy in the same eyes. Arielle's mind wandered into the realm of her vivid imagination and she began to paint Eden in the shades of some kind of light and some kind of dark, wondering if such a being could exist in reality.

"Arielle?" Eden said in a low voice.

"Yes?" she whispered back.

"You're staring at me."

"Oh," Arielle said with a jolt, snapping out of her somewhat dreamy state with embarrassment. "I'm very sorry."

Eden continued her task, concentration etched on her face.

"There." she said, leaning back and placing the handkerchief on the table.

She reached over to her saddlebags again and took out a salve. She looked at Arielle and again the blond saw the strange, anger-like look in the raider's eyes. Eden cast them down.

"This will help it heal faster. It might sting a little at first, alright?" she said to the floor and only looked at Arielle when she was done speaking.

The blond nodded and again Eden leaned in and applied the salve skillfully.

"Done." she said and turned to put the salve back into the saddlebags.

"It didn't sting at all." Arielle said quietly, in genuine amazement of how the raider had treated her wound.

"The cut on your lip just needs cleaning." Eden added, betraying no emotion.

Arielle nodded at little absently and took the damp handkerchief and cleaned the cut on her lip, noticing that it hurt and wishing that the bandit could treat it too, but she quickly shooed the idea out of her head.

Eden got up, walked to the window, and watched the storm raging outside.

"This will still last for a while. Maybe rest." she suggested absently.

After a while, she walked back to the table tiredly, sat down, and began to take some food that she luckily had out of the saddlebags. She noticed Arielle looking pitifully at it. The woman didn't say a word, but her stomach growled instead and she covered it embarrassingly with her hand.

"Or eat something." Eden remarked with a disgruntled sigh and pushed the food into the middle of the table and motioned for the blond to help herself. Arielle almost jumped at it, but still tried to keep herself under control. After eating a few mouthfuls and washing it down with water, Arielle looked up at Eden who was quietly sitting, looking at the table, and picking at her food.

"What will happen to the squires if those marauders catch them?" Arielle asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"You mean when, not if."

"Alright, when?"

"I don't think you want to really know, duchess."

"They're going to be killed, aren't they? And the women?"

Eden didn't answer which was an answer in itself. Arielle sighed and leaned back in her chair a little, much less agitated now that she had something in her stomach though when she thought about her traveling companions, her stomach threatened to revolt.

"And you travel with these people? You condone this?" she asked, shaking her head with some agitation and automatically saw that she had overstepped her bounds when she met Eden's glare.

"Who are you to judge me?" she hissed through her teeth in a voice so low it was barely heard and with eyes that housed an igniting blaze, "You have no idea who I am. Or what I can do."

Arielle swallowed and found herself to be completely mortified.

"I'm, I'm sorry. I meant no offense." she said quickly.

"Really?" Eden coldly snarled, her eyes narrowing.

"You just strike me as different from those raiders." Arielle rushed in her defense in almost a whimper.

"Oh, amuse me. How?" Eden challenged, crossing her arms on her chest.

Arielle realized that those arms could probably grab and break her in two if they wanted. They just lingered there for her to see, almost daring her to say something stupid so that they could show her the extent of their power. She could feel her own arms going limp and her heart beginning to race faster and faster. _She is truly terrifying_.

"Better." she simply said.

Prepared for a barrage of flowery words that carried little meaning, Eden was caught off-guard by the simple statement. In a fluttering moment, Arielle saw a stunned look cross Eden's face only to be quickly covered again by her stone mask of no emotion. And in a quiet moment, Eden noticed something change in Arielle's eyes, almost as if a different, wiser and more knowing person emerged from her to peel away the layers of the marauder and speak only truths. It made Eden want to physically draw back and evoked discomfort and anxiety within her. Arielle eased back in her chair a little.

"I really am sorry." she added and Eden just waved her hand, looking to the side and out the window.

The downpour had lessened somewhat, but it was still raining hard and the sun was setting over the horizon.

"We're going to have to sleep here tonight." she mumbled to the window.

They continued to eat in silence. Nibbling away contentedly, Arielle didn't notice Eden picking at her food only to finally push it towards Arielle with a hint of disgust. Only after she felt a pleasant heaviness in her stomach did the blond finally look up and notice that she had eaten a lot more than courtesy would allow. She blushed, embarrassed and rushed over several different excuses in her mind until she finally realized that Eden didn't seem to have noticed or cared. She sat with her elbow propped on the table, her chin resting on her hand, staring out the window into the growing darkness. At that moment, she looked quiet, thoughtful, and wise. _Almost fragile._

"You know," Arielle started, breaking the silence, "I never thanked you for helping me today. With the raiders...and everything."

Eden only waved her hand again.

"No, really. It was very...brave what you did. And I know that you didn't have to. When we reach Antioch, I shall see to it that you are properly rewarded."

Eden turned her head slowly and Arielle suddenly remembered the comment she had made in the desert about giving her riches.

"That is," she said quickly, raising her palms up slightly in the air as a sign of no ill will, "if you want. I just want to show my appreciation."

"No need."

She frowned slightly, but in her mind Arielle decided that she would find a way to reward the marauder for her trouble.

"We should get some sleep," Eden finally said after some time, "Tomorrow's going to be a long day."

Arielle nodded and they got up from the table. Arielle had no bedclothes to change into so she simply removed her belt and shoes and lied down on one of the two straw beds in the hovel. She did so cautiously, but was too tired to pay enough attention to her out-of-ordinary circumstances to complain. Besides, Arielle treated it all as an adventure, like the ones she had read about or recited herself; she had finally broken free of her constraints. On the other side of the room, Eden had carried over her unsheathed sword and propped it up against the headboard. She took off her leather armor and boots and finally stretched herself out on the straw bed. With no fire, the room had become just as dark as the desert night and Eden closed her eyes and listened to the quiet falling of the rain.

"Sleep well." Arielle whispered timidly into the dark room.

Eden wanted to snort. Exchanging well wishes before sleep was just as common for her as straw beds in an abandoned hovel were for Arielle.

"Goodnight, Zauba'a." Arielle added, thinking the raider hadn't heard her before.

Eden frowned at the mention of the name even though she knew she hadn't told Arielle what her real one was.

"Zauba'a doesn't say goodnight. It always means goodbye." Eden murmured in a low voice, with a hint of sad recognition.

Arielle was so tired that her eyes had already grown too heavy to keep open and she fell asleep before she was able to wonder why the marauder had spoken of herself in the third person.


	3. Chapter 3

They awoke the next day to the rays of a risen sun spilling into the room.

Eden rose from the bed almost as if she had been shot out of a sling, stretching out her muscles and limbs in both an effort to drive away the rest of her sleep and to check if any of the previous day's events had taken any toll. After putting on her boots and leather armor, she briskly walked over to the wash basin, picked it up and walked out the door. When she came back, it was filled with rainwater taken out of a barrel outside. Eden washed her hands, face, and neck vigorously and then walked to the table. She wrapped the black turban around her head with ease and then fastened her sword belt around her waist, adjusting it a little on her hips until it felt comfortable. She repacked everything, save a piece of bread and a handful of dried figs, into the saddlebags and buckled them closed. She scanned the room to make sure everything was packed and that the hovel didn't betray too many signs of them being there although now, if Eden was to be honest, it didn't matter that much to her. She slung the saddlebags over her shoulder, scooped up the bread and figs, walked over to her bed and sheathed her broadsword. During this whole time, Arielle had managed to sit up.

Eden stood over the blond who was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, seemingly oblivious to the entire world around her. Arielle finally noticed the raider waiting there.

"Good morning." she said cheerfully and with a slightly goofy smile on her face.

Eden simply stared at her with a look of puzzled amazement and fought off a fleeting urge to simply just drop everything, sit on the edge of the bed, and cry in disbelief. Yet, the blond read the stare quite well and began to scurry around the bed like a frightened mouse.

"Right, we should get going, shouldn't we?" she said rhetorically and crammed her feet into her shoes after tying her belt.

She noticed that everything had already been gathered up so she nearly ran to the basin, washed her face, and then turned back to the raider still staring at her.

"Right, so, I'm ready to go." she said gleefully, grabbing her bag and then her growling stomach interrupted, making her blush.

Eden rolled her eyes and shoved the bread and figs she had into the blond's hands before she made her way out of the hovel. Arielle followed the raider with her gaze wanting to thank her for the gesture, but the raider was out and gone before she had a chance, so she turned her attention to the food. She stood in the doorway, happily nibbling away until Eden rode up and stopped right next to her on her horse. Holding on to the remaining figs, she put her hands on her hips and marveled at the raider.

"I understand that you probably want to make some sort of a statement, but must you really wear only black?" she asked in cheery innocence.

Eden glared down at her and the blond began to raise her hands in front of her to start apologizing.

"It brings out my feminine side." she said coolly and with a raised eyebrow.

Arielle raised both eyebrows, pleasantly surprised with the comment and the sense of humor the raider had just betrayed she actually had.

"Now can we get going?" Eden asked, her face instantaneously serious and gave Arielle her hand.

Arielle nodded quickly, took her hand, and somewhat clumsily found her way onto the back of the saddle. Eden veered the horse towards their destination.

"Aren't we going to Antioch?" Arielle asked, noticing that they weren't making their way back to the road.

"We are. It's a shortcut." Eden answered and heard the blond swallow hard. "Relax. It really is a shortcut."

Arielle nodded and tried to calm her nerves by reasoning to herself that no one in their right mind would go through so much trouble to kill her. She munched on the two remaining figs in her hands and took in the sight of the desert, which she was frankly getting a little sick of.

"So, your name, what does it mean?" Arielle asked, trying to start a conversation and ignoring the raider's sigh.

"Zauba'a?"

"Yes. Does that mean something special?"

"It's a long story." Eden sighed and Arielle noticed a hint of sadness in it and decided not to press it.

"So..." she continued, looking for a new subject, "are you married?"

Eden snorted so loudly that for a moment Arielle was afraid that both of them might fall off the horse.

"Yes, right, well, I should have, um, guessed that." Arielle babbled out. "So maybe some fair-headed fiancé somewhere, hm?"

Eden pulled on the reins and turned around to glare at Arielle who flashed her a nervous, silly smile. Yet the raider could find nothing to say to the blond's playful innocence so instead she simply shook her head disapprovingly and turned back around, nudging the horse forward. Arielle took a deep, but quiet breath of relief. For a while, she watched the skilled ease with which the raider rode her horse, meandering in and out of the rocks and nooks without almost the slightest move, reins in one hand and her other lying lazily on her leg. She wondered how it was this woman seemed to do the complicated things almost idly, yet a conversation seemed to strain her.

"I don't have a husband either," Arielle decided to continue by focusing on herself, "though I can't say it's through my parents' lack of trying. None of their chosen suitors ever seemed to interest me. They tried to force me once, naturally, but I threw them a fit the size of the Byzantine Empire and they finally let it go. Instead, they pushed me off on this pilgrimage. They said that perhaps God would finally knock some sense into my head. I didn't mind, I welcomed the chance. The Holy Lands, knights, desert bandits, exotic languages and foods; what an adventure! It wasn't exactly something I would experience at home."

"My family generally thinks there might be a little something wrong with me. I exasperate them really." Arielle continued to chatter, in her element and not even noticing if Eden was listening to her or not, "I spend too much time with my head in the clouds, they constantly say, instead of keeping my feet firmly on the ground. My sister, she's their pride and joy; elegant, married... They think I'm a child... a disappointment..."

Eden noticed Arielle's voice grow sad and taper off, but could think of nothing to say. Arielle solemnly shook her head and sighed and was about to ask the raider about her family until she thought better of it. She continued to think of several other questions she would have already asked any other traveling companion, but found to be afraid to ask this particular one. She sighed in small defeat.

"You didn't have any breakfast." Arielle mentioned after a moment thoughtfully.

"Not hungry."

"How is that possible? I'm always hungry, but especially in the morning. You really can't have a good day without a good breakfast in my opinion. You really should eat something." Arielle said with cheery sympathy.

"I said I'm not hungry." Eden muttered coldly.

Arielle's shoulders slumped. She already regretted the morning. She regretted that she somehow hadn't stopped time and the raider right before they rode out to take in that small ray of humanity she had shown. She regretted whatever she had done or said to bring back that frigid marauder though God knew she had tried everything she could think of to pry that marble mask off.

"How far is it to Antioch?"

"Few days."

Arielle nodded and resigned herself to a few more days of going nowhere with the marauder. After that they would part ways although she knew she would regret that she didn't get to know the raider any better. She felt that great stories could be told of her if she would only let them be.

Eden had brought them to a stop and Arielle raised herself a little to see the reason. Eden peered out to see a skirmish going on ahead of them, kicking up dust and bringing shouts floating over the sand towards them. Her trained eye identified those defending themselves as some sort of merchants and those attacking as marauders. One of the merchants on a pale horse broke off from the fight and tried to ride away only to find one of the bandits right on his heels. Both riders kicked up a fierce cloud of dust as they spurred their horses as fast as they could, racing in Eden's direction.

"Damn it all..." Eden growled under her breath.

"What is it?" Arielle asked apprehensively.

"Karas..."

At that moment, Karas gained a little on the merchant and raised his sword as he kept advancing. He let out a bloodcurdling yell the likes of which Arielle had never heard, making her blood run cold and she watched his sword come down in one swift motion, striking the other rider down, leaving only a bloody heap in the sand. Karas noticed Eden watching him, reigned his horse into a more controlled gallop, and approached her.

"Open your mouth duchess and I'll leave you here in a heartbeat." Eden shot at Arielle, turning her head slightly to the side. The blond swallowed, wide-eyed.

"Zauba'a!" Karas called out, raising his right hand in greeting, "what a pleasure seeing you here. Managed the storm?"

"Karas." Eden acknowledged coldly. "Nothing like a little rain to clear the air."

"Or cleanse the earth of...stains." he sneered, baring his teeth and staring at Arielle who Eden could hear swallowing hard.

"I see you're keeping busy." Eden said plainly.

"Oh, that." he commented, turning his head briefly to the corpse and then back to Eden, "A little uncooperative, that one."

An evil grin crossed his lips and Eden knew that as this small talk was only Karas's way of trying to intimidate her and especially Arielle. She demonstrated no emotion or interest towards the bandit, sitting upright in her saddle with a commanding, unwavering presence and a hostile half grin emerging from her mouth. She was simply waiting for what it was he really wanted.

"And how cooperative is that little tart being?" he asked with a little lick of his lips that made Arielle shiver.

"I've dealt with worse."

"That I can believe!" Karas admitted in a booming laugh, "So what do you plan on doing with her?"

"Taking her to town."

"There's no reason to."

"No reason not to."

Karas studied the two women for a moment, resting his gaze on the blond and giving her such a piercing look that Arielle felt as if her clothes were being ripped off her by his eyes and she unconsciously raised one hand and pulled her collar tighter around her neck. He smiled wickedly at her reaction and finally trotted up closer to Eden.

"You know, I think you can give her to me now. She's been enough of a burden to you already."

"You're sweet, truly," Eden responded cynically, knowing that his concern was as heartfelt as a kiss of a viper, "but I wouldn't dream of putting you in such an imposition. You are a busy man after all."

"Damn it, woman! Don't forget that I'm the leader of this band!" he shouted impatiently, his voice thundering across the hills and making Arielle want to hide under a rock.

"And don't you forget that I am Zauba'a." Eden growled in such a low tone that it was barely heard, but carried more threat than a thousand yells.

"I'm not afraid of you."

"Well, that's your first mistake." she hissed through her teeth, narrowing her eyes.

Arielle was afraid her heart was going to explode out of her chest and she fought back the urge to cling to the raider. She watched the two raiders duel in words and icy glares, feeling the tension rise with every passing moment. She secretly hoped that the black raider had come out with the upper hand when Karas grew quiet, but soon saw she was mistaken.

"Give her to me now." he growled menacingly, leaning forward and glaring at Eden as if he was trying to impale her on his gaze.

And then she noticed a strange shift in the black raider, a bizarre relaxed pressure in which she could sense that the black marauder was completely focused on Karas, but also at a knowing peace. Eden had felt that strange feeling before and she felt it clearly now. It was one of many that she had had since she could remember. That feeling of _knowing_ something with absolute certainty. These were always things that had not yet come to pass or sometimes hadn't even yet appeared and through some unknown design, Eden already knew it. When she was younger, she sometimes mentioned these sensations and was belittled and called everything from a daydreamer to a witch. She learned to never speak of it again. And this time, after feeling Karas's demand travel through her and invoke that strange sensation of quiet resolution, she knew that there was something more in all of this. She didn't have the time nor strength to wonder over it now, but past experience had taught her that the sensations should be listened to. Arielle had to be kept away from that man and that was all Eden needed to know.

"Go home Karas. There'll be no bargaining here today." she said icily.

Karas only shot back a cold grin and turned back to his raiding party, trotting quietly away. Eden took a deep breath and felt the blond shaking in back of her, her voice emitting the slightest little mumbles that her sharp hearing was able to pick up.

"We're in a little trouble now." Eden told Arielle hurriedly.

"Why? He's riding away, isn't he?"

"Only to gather up the others."

"Why?" she asked, the fear growing in her voice.

"Because now he knows you're protected."

Arielle didn't have time to ask or even think about the meaning of what the raider had just said. Karas raised his sword in the air and gave a war yell that gained the attention of the rest of his band and sent them bounding in his direction. He turned his horse back in Eden's direction, a cold sneer on his face.

"Remember when you asked what Zauba'a means princess?" Eden asked Arielle, her voice laced with an anxiety mixed with resolve.

"Yes..."

"Well, you're about to find out."

Time seemed to slow down for Arielle as the blood drained from her face and pooled somewhere down in her feet and fear crawled up her spine. She sensed Eden's whole body tense as she clutched the reins with such strength that her knuckles turned white. Eden almost didn't look human, her determination etched now on a face of stone, her every visible muscle rippling in ultimate exertion. And though like a slab of granite, she moved with the flow and grace of a mighty, ancient river, knowing its path and purpose. Not a single movement or breath was wasted or without function and Arielle would have studied the raider for hours in utter fascination if she hadn't been so terrified.

"Arielle, hold on to me and for the love of God, don't let go!" Eden commanded fiercely.

And with that Eden veered the horse off to the side and began to gallop away. Arielle didn't need to be told twice and instinctively grabbed hold of the raider, wrapping her arms around her waist and clinging to her for dear life. She could feel the powerful muscles of both the horse and the woman, working at full force, expelling massive amounts of energy and driving in a practiced unison. She heard the hooves of the advancing raiders and began to pray for any kind of help. Eden leaned forward, close to the horse's neck and they seemed to communicate, exchanging breathless whispers and ghosts of words, working together as one unstoppable force.

"Vola!" she ordered straight over the horse's head in a whisper that seemed to slide out of her lips like thick smoke and pour over the horse in an igniting magic.

The crawling time suddenly accelerated with back-breaking force and the horse sped up into such a run that Arielle was nearly flung off. She almost hysterically dug her fingers into the rider's leathers, clamping her legs around the bounding horse and squeezing her eyes shut so hard that tears began to creep out of them. She was absolutely convinced that she was going to die on that horse that seemed to have just changed into the wind itself. Her senses strained almost to their breaking point in her frenzied fight for survival; the hooves pounded in her ears, the labored breathing of the horse and rider heaved against her skin, dust filled her nose, the raider's angry, fluttering, black fabric brushed against her body assertively. But there was also a part of Arielle that remained eerily calm in the unique feeling of protection she sensed on that blazing horse, holding on to that relentless rider. That part synchronized with the horse and rider and hurled forward with them, knowing that they were right, knowing that they were held in grace.

She was frozen in such terror on that racing steed that she hadn't noticed when they had slowed down to a trot.

"Arielle..." Eden said quietly, trying to gain the blond's attention, "Arielle..."

Eden frowned slightly though understandingly, turning her head to the side to see Arielle clinging to her out of the corner of her eye.

"Arielle." she repeated a little louder and lightly touched one of her arms.

"What? What? What is it?" Arielle asked in a near yell, her eyes flying open.

Eden allowed her some time to notice that the neck-breaking run was over, the raiders were gone, they were safe. Arielle turned her head to one side and then the other and began to calm the breathing she had just noticed was racing.

"It's over. We're going to walk some now." Eden said quietly.

Arielle kept turning her head one way and then the other almost as if she didn't trust her own eyes and judgment.

"Princess, you can let go of me now."

"Oh," she said, seeming to finally break out of her stupor, "right. Sorry. Damn..."

Arielle practically peeled herself off of the raider, the leather armor leaving marks on her skin. She sat up straight, took a deep breath, and looked around her in awe.

"Holy, sweet mother Mary and Joseph, that was...amazing." Arielle admitted somewhat breathlessly.

Eden gave faint nod of agreement and then carefully dismounted. She then raised her hand up to Arielle who took it without question and let herself be eased down to the ground. Eden took the reins of exhausted horse in her hands while Arielle steadied herself, letting the solidity of the ground work its way up through her legs and back. She took a deep breath, glad to be alive and exhilarated to the point of bursting.

"So that was Zauba'a?"

"Pretty much. It's an Arabic word. Zauba'a is believed to be a demon that takes the form a whirlwind. When people saw me ride like that, they thought me a demon and that's what they called me." Eden explained.

Arielle took a long look at the rider in contemplation, clasping her hands around the strap of her bag.

"A demon whirlwind, the black horse and dress...you are making a statement, aren't you?" Arielle judged lightly.

Eden shrugged defenselessly, bringing a grin to the blond's face.

"But then that would also mean that Zauba'a isn't your real name." Arielle noticed.

She then saw the raider's expression change back to her hostile guardedness and her shoulders slumped somewhat.

"Let's go. We still have a long road ahead of us." Eden simply stated and began to walk forward, the horse loyally at her side.

Arielle joined the raider's side and for a time, they walked through the desert, each in their own thoughts, each pretending that what had just happened was really nothing out of the ordinary. Eden was thankful for the clouds that had gathered again, covering the sun every so often and treating them to a light, cool breeze.

"Why do you call me those things?" Arielle suddenly asked in honest curiosity.

"What things?"

"Princess... duchess..."

Eden knew why she did that. It was a course of habit. It kept people at arm's length, heck, at empire's length; it was safer for her that way. She used the terms to belittle, to scoff, to pretend that the people she met meant nothing to her for fear that one day, someone might mean too much. Attachment was a useless and dangerous ballast in these lands, in her life and she had learned to keep herself clear of it.

"Don't know." Eden replied with a shrug.

Arielle gave a single, silent nod and turned her gaze to the ground. _Going nowhere. _Eden knotted her brows and also drove her eyes into the dirt. She noticed how the young woman kept making her think with the simplest sentences about things she wanted to keep buried or dead. It made her anxious and somewhat bothered by her. But before Eden could ever take the time to wonder about the blond's ability to slip through the minute cracks in her mile-high walls, an exhaustion would overcome her and remind her that it didn't really matter anymore anyway. The tension and tiredness battled within Eden constantly and she sometimes reached a point where she wanted to simply fall onto her knees and scream until her lungs gave out. But there was no one who would listen and she was not one to kneel. The turmoil within her caused her to pull too much on the reins in her hands and the horse whickered in disapproval, tossing its head a little. Eden looked up at him and after a couple of moments loosened the reins and returned her eyes to the ground. Arielle watched this silent exchange between the raider and her horse and found herself wishing that she could communicate with the raider to even half the extent the horse could. The idea of being in envy of a horse brought a smile to her face and she shook her head in amusing disbelief.

"What did you mean by saying I was protected?" she asked timidly, determined not to give up on prying something out of the raider. _She's_ s_o...stubborn_.

She watched the raider suddenly stop and stiffen, visibly unnerved with the question and she automatically regretted having asked.

"It's just that," she added quickly, trying to calm the raider down, "I did feel protected."

Eden gave her a puzzled look, blinking.

"Amidst the flurry of stones, hooves, and men trying to kill us," the blond recounted with ease, adding some gestures for emphasis, but keeping her eyes constantly on the Eden, "I really did feel protected."

Eden felt agitated, as if someone was pounding on her door, trying to knock down her walls, break and crawl through her windows. She knew protecting Arielle at that moment was evident to her, but she never thought that the blond would be able to actually feel it. That small remark again slipped through some tiny crack in her armor and tried to stir up a feeling Eden hadn't felt for much too long. Purpose. Eden had known that Arielle needed to be protected and Arielle felt that protection envelope her. They had actually shared something for those brief, furious moments. Having this gift, this curse that couldn't be spoken of was something she was already accustomed to, but the thought that someone could also sense that gift was something Eden had never given any thought. She looked at those green eyes with the same intensity as they were looking at her and the green eyes noticed her uneasiness. Then the familiar, tired resignation spilled over her again. _It's too late now_.

"Come on," Eden said shortly, breaking their gaze and turning her eyes back to the ground, "it's getting late."

"Wait." Arielle said and walked over to one of the saddlebags, fiddled with it, and returned to Eden with a handful of dates and figs. "Here, you earned it."

Eden glanced up at her and for a moment gave a look of baffled amazement as if she was just being handed the beating heart of a dragon. Arielle smiled and then Eden's face was again covered in its stone case and her eyes burrowed into the ground.

"Let's go."

Arielle dropped into step beside her and contented herself with the knowledge that this time what she said and did somehow made its way through the twisting passages of the black raider. She watched the her cautiously chew on a fig and already knew that this day would make one of her favorite stories.


	4. Chapter 4

Ringing church bells sing in the distance, filling the air. The air hot, dust hanging, unsettled. A winding path, snaking down from the hills to the walls of a great city. Sandy walls, high, thick walls and towers. The desert winds, the flag of Antioch fluttering in those winds. The winding road, a long line of carts, men, women, knights, merchants, children slinking down and through. Walls, alleys, hovels, churches, marketplaces, taverns, armorers. People talking, laughing, running, haggling, working.

"Eden..."

The whisper hangs in the air. The path again, overlooking the city. The warm sun.

"Eden..."

The whisper brushes her face. Eden turns to her right. There stands a bright figure, brighter than the desert sun, more magnificent. Outstretched wings white as virgin snow. Eyes of flame.

"I can see you. I can rest my eyes on you, angel."

"Yes, Eden, you can. You do not fear me."

Brilliant silver armor and robes the color of the clearest blue sky. Such serenity. Such peace of being.

A large cross on a hill in the desert sand. A lone sentinel warrior guarding the winding road. So many people streaming by. A voice. A voice she's heard somewhere before outside herself. The cross. The rolling wind. A black cloak dancing on the strong breeze.

A calm, unyielding warrior. Red and black. Fabric and metal. Sword, dagger, shield. That voice...

"It is time, Eden."

"Please..."

The angel raises his hand.

"Take heed, guardian for the Lord is with you. Travel to Antioch. Find there all that you have seen. Take that which waits there for you. There paths will straighten and converge. There shall the will of the Creator of all things come to pass."

"I...Angel, I..."

"Take heart and have faith, Eden. You will no longer be the Arab demon you never really were."

"No...I..."

The angel departs in a soft silence. The smell of earth, the crunching of hooves against small stones and dry dirt. That presence so nearby...

The church bells ringing again, the clash of swords in the distance. The cross against the sun, swaying bells against the clouds. The warrior sitting on a large rock, patiently waiting. The hum of arrows sailing through the air. A snow of white feathers. The warrior stands before her and points a drawn sword at her, a sword Eden knows...

Eden awoke with a start, breathing heavily, her hair clinging to her damp forehead. She sat up, resting her forearms on her drawn knees and hung her head slightly, trying to catch her breath. The desert night was quiet, the fire burned shyly. She turned her head and saw Arielle sleeping calmly on her bedroll. She turned back and stared out into the night in front of her.

"Gabriel..." she whispered.


	5. Chapter 5

"We should reach Antioch by the evening." Eden said.

Arielle merely nodded. Eden, with reins in hand, was leading the horse, giving him some well deserved rest; it was a warm day. Arielle was walking beside the raider, her hands clutching the strap of her bag.

"Assuming we don't meet any of your...friends along the way." Arielle added good-humoredly.

"Yes, assuming." Eden replied with a very tiny snicker.

Arielle tried to tally up all that they had encountered during their journey to Antioch. There had been the raid that started everything. Then they escaped Karas's men in a mad flurry of hooves. Arielle almost stepped on some desert snake. Arielle insisted they help repair a pilgrim family's broken cart wheel on the road. Eden left Arielle at camp to find water without telling her and almost gave the blond a heart attack. She learned the hard way that no one touches Eden horse when they both decided to ignore her in anger for a day when Arielle had tried to mount the horse herself. Arielle tried to chase a rabbit across the brush and Eden thought she went mad. Eden took an entire minute to teach some stray marauder who had decided to bother them a lesson. Every morning, Arielle awoke to the black raider glaring down at her impatiently. All in all, Arielle had concluded, it had been quite an adventure. She found herself growing a little sad with having to see it end already.

"You know," Arielle began in her usual chatty tone and Eden took a deep breath in anticipation, "I happen to be very perceptive if I do say so myself. And I noticed that your sword is different from the others I've seen."

"It is." Eden replied simply and flatly.

"Everyone here seems to carry sabers, but you, you carry a Frankish sword, don't you?"

"I do."

Arielle sighed, seeing that getting anything more than two worded answers out of the raider seemed next to impossible at the moment.

"It's..." Eden said tentatively after a few moments, making Arielle turn to look at her, "it's...I've had this sword for a while. I, I like it."

Arielle observed the raider's rare, slightly personal admission and how her one hand had unconsciously slid down to the hilt of the sword, holding it firmly as if she was afraid it might suddenly be taken from her. She seemed to be more at ease with one hand on her sword and Arielle could see that it really was something special to her.

"It's a beautiful sword." Arielle admitted with a smile, "So much in fact, that I would almost want one too. But, I've never carried any weapons or taken part in fighting. My father sometimes took me along on hunting parties, usually because I would moan about be bored for so long that he would take me along just to shut me up. It's unladylike, he would always say..."

Eden noted that a hint of sadness had entered Arielle's tone again.

"Swords aren't for princesses." she stated with a slight shrug of her shoulders, "But then again, neither are Arab demons."

Arielle glanced at the raider momentarily and smiled, seeing the compliment. Eden found that there was, in fact, a part of her that was rather proud and even impressed with the blond's handling of their journey. She had expected complaining, fainting, and wailing, but experienced none of that. True, if left alone Arielle might have begun to cry like the time Eden had gone off for water, but she really couldn't expect a Frankish lady to be able to survive days in the desert lands with ease. Arielle housed a calm spirit of adventure and Eden realized that of all the people she could have been traveling with now, she could have done a lot worse.

Their day was a quiet one and the sun had begun its descent when they reached an outcropping that overlooked a great city.

"There it is. That's Antioch." Eden announced and saw Arielle smile in delight out of the corner of her eye.

Antioch stretched out before them. Its long walls seemed to stretch on forever and its five gates stood like immortal sentinels. The front of the main gate bustled with activity even late in the day and a thin stream of people could be seen entering and exiting the city.

"It's...remarkable." Arielle wondered.

"The queen of the East." Eden added, "Let's go, it'll be dark soon."

An uneasiness settled over both the travelers as they neared the city. Arielle was finding it hard to deny that she had enjoyed their adventures and even the company of the brooding raider. She was finding it even harder to get rid of the idea to tell the raider all this, but next to impossible to find a way to do so that would leave all her bones intact. She grew quieter with the passing moments, sad to see the complicated, stubborn raider go and wondering how she would fair now on her own to Jerusalem.

Eden grew agitated with the memories of the vision in her dream. She had had these types of visions before and she knew that they weren't simply some haphazard product of a bored imagination. This particular vision she had seen before, though never did it have as specific a message as it did this time. The explicitness of the vision worried her; there was more to come, this was just a beginning, something was amiss. Yet, Eden was troubled because she had come to Antioch with her own plan and purpose. She was tired of the fighting, killing, and battles for survival, but mostly she was sick of disgusting herself. No matter how fast she could ride or how well she could wield her sword, she couldn't escape herself; there was only one way to do that. She didn't understand why it had to be Antioch, why now, why she couldn't just be left alone. But there was a dangerous truth she knew all too well; God's will was one thing, man's free will was another.

They walked through the main gate and were immediately swallowed by all the people, sounds, and smells of the lively city. Arielle absorbed everything around her through an open, smiling mouth and wide, captivated eyes. She thought that she could spend weeks there and not fully discover everything Antioch had to offer. Eden's sullen voice tore her from her enchantment.

"So..." she said slowly, looking at the ground and fiddling with the reins, "I guess this is it."

"Yes...you accompanied me to Antioch just like you promised you would. And you didn't cut out my tongue." Arielle said, trying to add humor, but something in the raider's presence made the humor sink like a stone, replacing it with a strange heaviness of being.

"Yes, I did."

"Thank you, for everything. It was a great adventure. It's a story I'll never stop telling." Arielle said nobly. _Can it wait perhaps one more day?_

"Yes, well, I said I'd get you here and that's what I did. All's well, I guess."

The dejected stance of the raider tugged at something in Arielle's heart. She wanted to touch her hand in comfort. She wanted to suggest eating supper at the local tavern. She wanted to know if the raider was perhaps traveling to anywhere further later. But she didn't know how to make any of these things be.

"I'll be staying here a while..." Arielle mentioned timidly and saw the raider's eyes glance at her and then return to the ground.

"You should." she replied shortly. _Why now?_

The tension was getting to be more than Arielle could handle and she found her fingers tangling and untangling over and over again. She finally sighed loudly under the pressure and the raider mistakenly understood it as a sign of annoyance.

"Alright then, I think I should get going." she said.

"I don't even know your name." Arielle suddenly blurted out with a look of dismay.

Eden lightly nodded her hanging head, sighed, and looked at Arielle defiantly. Arielle was shocked to see a mixture of heavy sadness and submission in those arresting eyes and she drew in a small breath.

"Take care." Eden said simply and turned to leave.

"Please," Arielle added hurriedly, "take care of yourself too."

It was all she could manage to say. Eden nodded and then walked off with her horse and was lost in the commotion of the streets. Arielle took a long, heavy breath.

"I am so indescribably silly." she muttered to herself, shaking her head.

She then stood up straight, straightened out her dress, and immersed herself in the nearby marketplace, full of colors, sounds, and smells that she had never encountered.

Eden finally found a good place to stable her horse.

"Be good," she whispered to him, stroking his forehead and nose, "then go."

The horse stared at her with gravity and made no noise. Eden patted him once more and turned to leave.

Her vision was so firmly burned into her mind, that Eden decided that she had no choice, but to adhere to it. Or at least in part. She spent the better part of the next day scouring the city for what she saw in her dream. Finally, in an armorer's shop in some small alley on the edge of the city, she was rewarded. She walked in and her attention was immediately caught by a red gambeson and a breastplate that was placed over it. She walked up to the burly, but friendly armorer who was wiping his thick hands with a cloth.

"Nice display." she ventured, motioning her head towards the armor.

"Aye. You interested?" he asked.

"Maybe. Seems alright."

"Aye, it is. Frankish, you know. Wouldn't shame a Templar. Have a looksee if you want." the armorer suggested quite warmly, motioning Eden towards the armor.

She walked up to it almost hesitantly. She slowly picked up the breastplate. The gleam of it was exactly as it was in her vision and the feel of it sent a hum through her hands telling her that it was hers to take.

"You know, most folks don't even notice that there lot. Seems to almost be waiting around for you though." the armorer mentioned.

Eden glanced curiously at him and he just shrugged. She looked back at the breastplate and caught her own reflection looking at her. She stood silent for a few moments, caught in that stare, the flames of the hearth dancing in the corners of her eyes, the rushing of its heat pouring into her ears. She brushed her fingers along the gambeson, the coarseness of skin against fabric that was waiting to be worn flooding her ears.

"Looks like that there lot found itself a proud owner." the armorer noticed with a smile, "Good thing too. Meant to see the world, that suit. Have stories told about it."

"Stories?" Eden asked curiously, turning to him with slightly furrowed brows.

"Sure. Why not?" he replied, shrugging.

Eden looked at him for a few moments and pulled out her coin purse.

"So how much?" she asked and the armorer's grin widened.

Eden took the armor back to her horse and packed it into the saddlebags. The stable keeper looked at her a little warily, wondering why someone would leave things that valuable out in the open, but Eden knew very well that just the sight of her horse made everyone take a step back and no one would dare to either steal it or anything near it. She then turned on her heel and quickly walked away.

She had done what was asked of her, she fulfilled God's will and now she wanted to be left alone to fulfill her own. She slowed her step and breath, falling into unison with the capitulation inside her. She let everything that was outside of that slowly seep out of her and spill onto the streets of Antioch until she felt completely empty. Time slowed down for her as she felt the night fill her, the black she wore on the outside matching the icy black now within. She walked in time with phantoms, the people she passed hardly noticing her except for the slight chill she left behind. She slowly unwrapped her turban, the fabric unwinding like a giant, dark serpent and she let it finally float to the ground to be trampled underfoot like it so rightly deserved. She meandered in and out of alleys and streets and the dancing shadows caused by flickering torches, the inner death wish steering her to the place of her choosing. She had waited so long for her peace. She had seen too much, paid too high a price, become an abomination. She had forgotten the feeling of being human and being a monster was too much like a second skin. There was that one piece of her, that one minuscule ray of hope that refused to fade and go out, that one remnant of the essence of a chosen one of God. But it wasn't enough and the strains were too many and Eden finally decided to surrender to the shadows that had her surrounded and give herself and the rest of the world some final peace. She noticed and sensed nothing, driven now by a deep seeded resignation. She finally felt like she was a part of something that was meant to be.

"Leave me be you whore's son!"

The scream tore through Eden's mind all of the sudden and she raised her eyes to find its source. She saw that down the alley, a group of guards were pushing around a woman and jeering. Although she thought it a rather pitiful form of entertainment, it wasn't all that uncommon. She was about to turn the corner to evade the conflict when the sight of the woman caught her eye. It was Arielle.

"We're just going to teach you some manners, wench. A little lesson to dull that sharp tongue of yours." a guard who was holding her by the hair growled into her face and then took to roughly cutting her hair with his dagger.

"Help, someone, please!" Arielle began to scream and tried to escape but with every attempt, one of the guards would kick or hit her back into place with a loud laugh.

Something in Eden imploded. Her heart stopped for a beat and then started again, now sending a fire through her blood. The flames licked her skin and surged up her spine, crackling in her mind and lighting her eyes. She heard nothing but that screaming and laughing. Without the slightest thought, instinctively, her feet turned her away from the corner and back into the alley and towards the men. When she was close enough, she suddenly stopped and simply stood there glaring at them. She was steeped in shadow, only the hilt of her sword glinting in the dark on the faint flickers of the light it caught. Slowly, the men noticed her there and stopped what they were doing.

"Who goes there?" one yelled.

Eden was silent. Her mind flooded with the sounds of an infernal blaze and each one of Arielle's whimpers. A brilliant, almost god-like force filled the entire fabric of her being and pulsated off her skin and she let herself drown in it. _What is this force?_

"It's a little late in the night for a walk. Perhaps you're looking for trouble? Or maybe...entertainment?" the leader of the group growled jeeringly and roughly threw Arielle to the ground and turned fully around towards Eden. The men let out a collective chuckle, but she still said and did nothing, hearing Arielle's whimpering and moans of pain. The leader grew impatient.

"Perhaps I'll just skin you alive instead!" he threatened.

This time Eden let out a low, chilling laugh that made the men uneasy.

"Oh," she hissed lowly, unsheathing her sword slowly, "that's nothing compared with what I'm going to do to you."

Arielle heard the men rush over to attack Eden, kicking up dust and pebbles as they did. She heard the clashing of blades and the grunts of the guards who completely underestimated who they were dealing with. She raised her head after one of the guards flew backwards and landed with a heavy thud next to her, his face bloodied, his eyes transfixed in fear.

"You're not human! You're a demon!" the leader cried out, on his knees, Eden holding him by the hair from behind and with her sword at his neck.

Her black was now sprayed with the blood of all the men and her eyes flashed with rage. Arielle had managed to somehow turn and propped herself up on one elbow to see what was happening and saw Eden standing over the leader with sword drawn.

"Zauba'a." she whispered.

"You, you , you're Zauba'a?" the leader sputtered out and began to shake in growing fear. "You, you are a demon among, among demons."

"Yes," Eden hissed straight into his ear, pushing the sword hard enough against his neck that it began to draw blood, "that I am. And now I'll send straight to the hell that I come from, you worthless shit."

A whimper brought her gaze up to catch Arielle's eyes and she was touched for a moment by something beyond her recognition. The fire in her remained, but the rage was snuffed out with perplexing ease by that green. Arielle finally slumped back down in exhaustion and closed her eyes. A moment later, Eden returned her attention to the man in her hands, her fury spent.

"If I ever see you again, I will tear your skin off in little strips until you curse the very fact that you were ever born." she promised him in a tone so low and cold that it sent shivers up and down the shaking guard, drawing her sword down the side of his face and leaving a trail of blood.

"Get out of here!" Eden shouted and kicked him in the back and watched him scurry away crying.

When he was gone, Eden took a deep breath and walked up quickly to Arielle, who was still lying on the ground.

"Are you alright?" she asked as she quickly wiped and sheathed her sword and crouched down next to her.

"Yes, I think. Mostly. I don't know." Arielle said weakly, looking up at Eden.

Eden sighed heavily. Arielle's face was a variety of scrapes, cuts, bruises and blood mixed with tears and dirt and Eden could only imagine what other damage was most likely done, but could not be seen. Arielle began to tremble uncontrollably and it jolted something in the raider. She felt a great bitterness, but this time it didn't concern her, but another human being. She resented Arielle being treated that way, subjected to such danger. She didn't deserve it, it was unfair beyond any words and it made Eden angry.

"You seem to invite trouble." Eden said a little absently, looking at her for any other visible signs of damage.

"It seems I do." she acknowledged in a trembling voice with a smile on shaking lips and absently moving slightly to rest her heavy head on Eden's knee.

Eden's first reaction to the touch was to jump away, but as soon as that reflex appeared, it faded away. Arielle could feel the woman stiffen, but was too tired to be concerned this time. And now the inferno in Eden suddenly shifted from a blaze to a milder, warm fire.

Eden looked at the sight for a few moments with a great stillness and sensitivity. She sighed heavily again and looked up the alley both ways and then back down at Arielle who was having a hard time keeping her eyes open. _What is this?_

"I have to get you out of here." she decided, "Can you walk?"

"I don't know."

Eden said nothing for a few moments, weighing two diverse paths with gravity in her mind.

"Do you trust me right now?" she suddenly asked.

Arielle looked at her for a couple of moments, surprised by the sudden question and thinking of how to answer. There were several different conflicting responses in her head, but she decided on a simple nod.

"Alright. I'll get you out of here."

Eden turned to let out a high-pitched whistle out into the night. She then put her arms around Arielle, picking her up and then curling one arm around her waist and placing Arielle's arm around her shoulders and holding it there. She took one step forward. Arielle moved with some pain and awkwardly, but she could walk.

"Alright, steady now. I've got you."

Eden walked Arielle towards her horse that had just trotted up as if he had just been waiting around the corner. She lifted her onto the horse as gently as she could. She then mounted it herself, in front of Arielle and wrapped the blond's arms about her waist.

"Hold on to me." Eden said and felt Arielle's grip tighten.

In a slow but steady trot, they left the streets of Antioch and moved out into the dark outskirts of the city. With the bigger bumps and jolts of the streets, Arielle winced and moaned quietly in her pain, her head falling from one side to the other as she tried to keep awake.

"Lay your head on my back. Between my shoulders." Eden instructed and Arielle complied and it made the ride more bearable.

When they finally left the walled city so far behind that Arielle was afraid that the night might swallow them, Eden slowed down and stopped.

"Here we are. Let me go now and I'll help you down." she said and once she unwrapped Arielle from herself, she slid off the saddle and then raised her arms towards Arielle.

Weak, frightened, and exhausted, Arielle reached down towards Eden and when she felt that the raider's arms had her, she practically collapsed into them. She spilled down off the horse and Eden scooped her into her arms with a bit of a huff and walked towards the seemingly abandoned hovel that Arielle only now noticed.

Once inside, Eden lay Arielle down on a bed of straw.

"I'll be back in a moment." Eden mentioned quietly.

Eden tended to the horse and took the saddlebags inside. She took a quick inventory of the place and saw that everything was mostly where she left it and then went towards the fireplace to make a fire. The nights were cold and the hovel a little drafty; it needed work that Eden had never found the time for. The fire began to spread warmth and light around the one room hovel.

Eden took off her sword belt and placed it on the table, picking up one saddlebag and then sitting down next to Arielle to tend to her wounds. Arielle couldn't decide which one of them probably looked more fragile, her or the raider. Eden busied herself with cloths and water and wiping away the dirt and blood, but did it so delicately as if she was afraid that Arielle might shatter if she touched her. Each cut or scrape she cleaned was one too many and stirred Eden's anger in the injustice of it all.

"This is not right." she whispered to herself, but Arielle had heard, sensing the raider's strange frustration.

"Am I bleeding wrong?" Arielle asked in a try at humor.

Eden looked at her, but Arielle saw that her anger was too much for a tiny remark to quell. She felt sorry for the raider then. She didn't want to be the cause for such commotion, such unease. Distracted, she gently placed her hand on the raider's wrist. Eden tensed and waited for some overwhelming admission to come and scare her half to death, but Arielle only smiled lightly and Eden found that that smile told her exactly what she needed to hear and she took a deep breath and calmed slightly. She then returned to her task. _What is all this? What is this about?_

Once Eden finished cleaning the wounds on her face and hands, her brows knotted and her face betrayed some confusion.

"What it is?" Arielle asked in slight worry.

"Well, the rest...um, your um...I have to...maybe something's...broken or..." the raider stuttered and Arielle tried to hold back a grin.

"It's alright. Go ahead." she said soothingly.

"I'm just going to feel for breaks...or ruptures. I'll try to be gentle." Eden assured her.

She then ran her skilled hands down Arielle's torso, first checking if any ribs were broken and then down to her midsection to see if any organs might have been damaged. Arielle told her that she didn't feel any great pain anywhere except for probable bruises. Eden nodded in agreement and she then took out a few different salves and ointments and applied them where necessary. Feeling the warmth of the fire fill the room, the safety of being far from immediate harm and the care of the raider, Arielle felt very at ease.

"You know," she began a little dreamily, "I could get used to this."

Eden replied with a little snort, mixing amusement with disapproval.

"I'd rather you didn't. What if I wasn't there?" she replied and a heavy sadness tainted her voice. _So close__._

"But you were."

The statement brought Eden back to the present and she wondered at the bends and breaks of every day that could actually lead to changing someone's life completely. They had come close. If Eden had taken a different alley or left earlier, if Arielle hadn't had screamed. They had come so very close.

Eden finished applying the salves and wrapped one particularly nasty cut on the blond's forehead in a bandage. She glanced at her and was rather proud of the job she had done in repairing the young maiden. She eased herself into the chair and let out a deep breath, relaxing a little for the first time that day.

"You know duchess, we really need to stop meeting like this." she said with a slightly raised eyebrow and Arielle chuckled.

"I know, I'll quickly grow destitute from constantly having you properly rewarded."

And in that moment the both of them knew that they had just jumped over their first hurdle.

After a moment Eden got up and started to bustle about the hovel, unpacking this, moving that, rearranging the other thing. Arielle watched her for a while and then succumbed to her heavy eyes for a time. Eden tried to make the hovel as comfortable as it could be since she knew that they would be staying there for a while. When she finished, Eden sat back down in the chair next to Arielle, leaning back in it, stretching her legs out in front of her and crossing her arms over her chest. Arielle's eyes fluttered open to the sounds near her.

"Shame about your hair." Eden said after some time.

Arielle raised one hand and felt around her hair, scowling somewhat.

"Yes, well, better my hair than my throat. I can go to the barber when I'm better."

Eden observed the floor while Arielle stared at the door, an easy silence hanging between them. Eden noticed the blond's eyelids begin to droop.

"You should get some sleep. You had an eventful day."

"You too." Arielle noticed.

Eden got up, checked the windows and door, and then arranged a nice pile of sacks of hay at the foot of the bed, near the fireplace. When it seemed comfortable enough, she stripped off her armor and boots, placed her sword by her side, and lied down, her body beginning to feel the exertion the day had demanded.

"Good night..." Arielle began.

"Eden. My name is Eden." the raider suddenly added before she could stop herself.

"Sleep well, Eden."

Eden didn't see the smile that had crept over Arielle's face right before she fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Arielle awoke the next day in a hazy confusion. She blinked a few times, scanning the hovel, trying to remember where she was. Jittery, she tried to get up until the throbbing 8pains from what seemed to be every part of her body forced her back down with a small wail. The door to the hovel was open and she was alone. Disoriented, foggy, and in pain, Arielle began to grow panicked.

"Eden? Eden?" she asked into the empty hovel quietly, but no response came and her heart began to beat more rapidly.

"Eden? Eden!" Arielle nearly yelled, her voice laced with fear and a sound at the door turned her head.

"Hey, take it easy. It's alright." Eden said, leaning through the doorway after she heard her name being called.

"Where were you? What's going on?" Arielle asked with misgiving and worry as if Eden had been gone for days.

"Calm down," Eden replied quietly, slowly walking towards Arielle, observing her closely, "I'm here. I was just outside the door."

Arielle looked at her and when her brain somehow finally registered that she wasn't either alone or in danger, her breathing began to slow down and the tension in her body loosened. She began to recall where she was and what had happened the day before, staring at the ceiling and blinking constantly. After a while, she turned her head to Eden, who had quietly sat down in the chair beside her.

"It hurts." she said simply.

Eden knotted her brows and let out a short sigh, crossing her arms over her chest. She thought for a while, tossing an idea around in her head for a few moments.

"How about I take a look at you?" she asked and Arielle quietly nodded, "But first, you'll have to change. That dress probably isn't helping."

Eden turned on her heel to the wardrobe and took out some of her clothes, knowing that it wasn't exactly something a lady would wear, but right now it was better than anything else. She chose a long, sandy tunic, a pale green skirt to go with it, and a belt. She turned back to Arielle and handed her the clothes.

"Call me when you're done." she said shortly and was out the door before the blond had a chance to even think about whether she could do it herself.

Arielle, not without some hissing, groaning, and desires to curse up a storm, managed her way out of her dress and thanked her reason that she had taken her simpler, more comfortable dresses on her journey. Her breath caught when she looked down at her middle, a speckled collection of bruises and welts of different sizes and colors. She shook her head lightly and made her way gently into the tunic and skirt. She feel back on the bed exhausted with the simple task.

"Eden."

Eden walked back in and over to Arielle. Her facial expression asked how she was and Arielle replied with a weak smile and a damp forehead from exertion.

"I'm going to take a look, alright?"

Arielle nodded. Eden slowly leaned over and very gently pulled the tunic up to expose her midriff. Seeing the slew of bruises, Eden shot a glance to the blond, who was observing her reaction and caught her gaze.

"Had their fun with me, didn't they?"

Eden shot her eyes back down to the bruises and gnashed her teeth together so that the blond could see Eden's jaw muscles flexing and relaxing. _This is so unfair. _Eden shook her head shortly once, concentrating on the task at hand. She gently prodded, searching for any signs of internal damage, but only confirmed what she had found last night, that there were none. There were no cuts or other wounds needing attention, everything would have to heal in its own time and Eden slid the tunic back down. She moved down a little and lifted the skirt just above the knees and found bruises and welts there too, but again nothing that needed serious attention. Pulling the skirt back down, she moved up to Arielle's head. She began to unwrap the bandage from around the blond's forehead.

"Did I even thank you?" Arielle asked.

"No need."

"Naturally. All in a day's work I suppose." the blond replied with a weak chuckle as Eden replaced the bandage with a fresh one, "Eden?...Eden?"

Eden was not used to being called by her real name; it was such a long time ago. The way her name rolled off the blond's tongue seemed to evoke some very far and faint memory of something she couldn't recall.

"Hm?"

"I wish I wasn't so helpless. I wish I could have fought those guards off." Arielle said in a shy confession.

"And how would you want to do that, duchess?"

"That's just the problem, I don't know. I never learned how to wield weapons. Maybe...perhaps you could teach me?"

Eden's eyes shot up at her and she gave her a startled expression for a split second as if she was just asked to build a castle before sunset. Eden couldn't think of a single reason why the blond should even think of learning to use a weapon and why Eden should be the one to teach her. Arielle was young, reckless, soft, naïve, and well, puny; she looked like a cough could knock her over.

"Rest first. Heal." Eden replied simply and Arielle gave up that fight for the moment.

Eden reapplied salve or other ointments where needed and noticed the blond carefully observing her almost every move. Arielle made a mental note to ask about all the treatments Eden had used, where they came from, how they were made, and what they were used for. She unearthed some bizarre fascination in all this medicine; she simply had to know what it was and how to use it.

"Hungry?" Eden asked simply, standing up when she was finished.

"Rhetorical question, isn't it?" Arielle said lightly.

Eden had to agree with a ghost of a smirk. She walked to the other side of the hovel and crouched near the hearth where she already had one pot hanging over the fire and an iron pot standing near the edge.

"Broth is a good idea."

"Sounds good. I'm a little cold."

Eden turned her head back and frowned. And before Arielle could say a word, Eden got up and began to bustle about the room. In an amazing whirl of taking, moving, shifting, and adjusting, Arielle noticed a fur rug on the ground in front of the fireplace and a chest dragged over with some sacks of hay put up against it and then covered with a thick though somewhat tattered blanket.

"Sit here. You'll be warmer." Eden suggested, pointing to the spot she had arranged for the blond.

Arielle sat up and winced in pain that was enough to make her still and grimace. Eden frowned. And then suddenly Arielle felt herself being scooped up from the bed.

"Oh dear me." she whispered, not knowing at all what to do with herself.

Eden placed her down on the rug and let her recline against the chest. Arielle shifted until she was comfortable and Eden covered her with her blanket.

"Oh my." Arielle commented with some astonishment.

"Here." Eden said, handing her a bowl of broth and a spoon.

She turned to the iron pot, pouring the hot water into a cup and then sprinkling in herbs from a small, leather pouch. She set the cup aside and then poured some broth for herself. They ate in silence, Eden lost in her thoughts, Arielle appreciating the broth as it warmed her from the inside, causing her aches and pains to fade a little.

"Thank you." Arielle said quietly when she had finished and put the bowl down near the hearth.

Eden shifted and leaned against the fireplace wall, across from Arielle, drawing up one knee and resting her forearm on it. The other hand idly fiddled with the fur rug. The blond observed her for a little, but naturally Eden's expression was unreadable and her stance on the verge of hostile. Yet she noted the bandages, the salves, the meals that said something different than Eden's demeanor.

"That was nice. You're not a bad cook." Arielle said, a noticeable return of some cheeriness in her voice.

"Oh, it's nothing really." Eden said to the rug, "Went to the market early this morning. But I didn't get much since I had to get back before you woke up. Didn't want you hysterically dropping dead because I was gone again."

Arielle gave a faint chuckle and slightly blushed, noticing that there was no blatant animosity in the comment. She shifted a little, folded her arms over her chest, and took a deep breath.

"Where do you come from?"

"I was born in Florentia." Eden replied after some silence.

"Really? That isn't all that far from Avignon." Arielle remarked.

"No, it isn't."

"Did you grow up there?"

"Yes. I left somewhere around the age of 15."

"That's the same as me. Except I got around to really leaving Avignon just now. I liked living there though, I have many good memories and I don't think I could ever just leave it for good. It just began to feel a little too, I don't know,...confined. So now I'm on this pilgrimage."

"And how is that turning out for you?" Eden suddenly with a flash in her eyes that startled the blond a little.

"It's not exactly what I expected, but I knew it might be hard. Like I said, God's path isn't an easy one."

Eden snorted loudly and the blond could sense the anger in Eden rising up almost uncontrollably and began to tense.

"Do you have something against pilgrimages?" she asked curiously.

"Not really. Just seem a little sentimental to me."

"There's nothing foolish in looking for God."

"Why look for God?" Eden countered, her voice rising a little, "Isn't God an omnipresence? He's everywhere in everything. So why drag yourself down here?"

"These lands are where it all happened. The things described in the Bible, the life and death of Christ. It's a source."

"God's source isn't found the rivers, hills, and sands here. It's just...geography."

"What is so wrong in trying to search for and understand God, in whatever way?"

"Understand God?" Eden scoffed, "Find me a pilgrim amongst all those in Antioch that really understands God."

"And you do?" Arielle challenged, becoming a little irritated.

Eden's gaze met Arielle's and she saw a lightning strike of anger in the stormy blue eyes only to then be covered over with a cloud of secrecy.

"Rest." Eden said flatly, getting up to her feet and grabbing her sword. "Drink the tea. It's for your fever."

Eden walked briskly out of the hovel before Arielle could say a word.

Arielle picked up the cup and held it between her hands, staring at it sadly for a while. Arielle was a person who liked other people, enjoyed meeting new people and got along with most. She saw the good in them and always tried to be understanding; she wanted everyone to get along. Yet, it seemed no matter what she tried with the raider, she ended up right where she had started and it frustrated her to no end. _She is so stubborn...and angry._

She drank the tea and then shortly afterwards fell asleep. The sun had filled the hovel when she awoke and she stretched slightly, feeling better than she had earlier. She carefully tried to stand up and after seeing that she was able to stand without great pain, she decided to go outside. She found an old staff propped up against the entrance, so she took it and leaned on it, making her walking a little easier. Eden still hadn't returned, so Arielle decided to go out on a small expedition to find her.

The massive walls of Antioch could be seen in the distance, yet other than that, the hovel was quite secluded. There were trees here and there, offering pleasant shade and a place to rest whenever the blond became tired. The sound of water nearby caught her attention and she directed herself to it. Not far from the river, she spotted a black figure hacking away at an unfortunate, dead tree with a sword. Arielle didn't move any closer, but simply watched the black-haired woman with a great curiosity from a distance. The noise of the blade ramming into the wood filled the air. And words.

"Stupid. Foolish. Dim-witted. Weak. Weak. Weak. Sentimental. You idiot! Pathetic! You pathetic excuse for a human being!" Eden yelled with each swipe of her sword, "I can't stand you! Madness. All senseless madness! ...You all expect too much from me!"

The words stung Arielle and she pulled her tunic tighter around her as if she wanted to protect herself from them. She let out a heavy sigh. She watched Eden finally exhaust herself. Eden's head hung low and she then dropped her sword, sliding slowly to the ground and breathing heavily as if she had just been vanquished in the battle she was fighting. And then Arielle realized that the words weren't meant for her, but for Eden.

Arielle doubled back a little so that Eden wouldn't catch her watching and then turned back to the river, widening the distance between her and Eden. She reached the bank and decided to sit down against a rock, under the half shade of a battered tree. The rushing sound of water was relaxing and the warm day soothed her aching muscles.

"Feeling better?"

Arielle turned her head to the side to find Eden crouching a small distance off from her, playing with a stone in her hands and looking out onto the water.

"Yes. I decided to take a walk, stretch my legs. It's such a nice day." she answered, wondering how the woman had approached so close without making a sound.

They said nothing for a while and just stared out onto the water, wondering where it went and what it carried with it.

"Eden, I'm so-"

"Do you like fish?" Eden interrupted, turning to meet her face.

"Well, yes, yes I do." Arielle replied, caught off guard.

"Have you ever tried fishing?"

"Once. I fell in the river, of course. My father pulled me out, half-drowned and a crying mess."

"Want to try now?" Eden asked quietly and Arielle looked at her a little hesitantly, "I'll pull you out if you fall in. All in a day's work after all."

Arielle almost felt as if a burden had been lifted off her chest.

"Absolutely." she answered with a smile.


	7. Chapter 7

The next day, Arielle awoke as usual to an already stirring Eden who was crouching in front of the fireplace.

"Good morning." the blond said sleepily.

"How are you feeling?" Eden asked, turning her head towards her.

Arielle stretched herself slowly and judged her body's reactions.

"Better. It doesn't hurt as much and I don't feel so hazy." she answered, noting that all the salves, ointments, and different teas she was being given had definitely helped with that.

"Good."

Slowly Arielle rose from bed and washed herself as Eden prepared some breakfast quietly. They ate in silence. Eden was pleased in the blond's relatively fast healing; the bruises were fading quickly, her forehead no longer needed a bandage.

"I'm going to the market for some more herbs." Eden mentioned after a while, staring at her food and Arielle raised her head from her plate.

"Herbs? Like the ones you make these teas out of?" she asked, getting a nod in response, "You know, it's all very fascinating; how they work, all those ointments and everything you used. ...Eden, could you...would you teach me...about the herbs?"

Eden didn't look up, but stopped eating for a moment, dragging her bread around her plate in circles. Arielle had begun to get used to the fact that sometimes it took time for Eden to reply and she patiently waited, hoping she hadn't gone too far again.

"You can come with me to the market if you want. I'll show you." Eden replied, slowly raising her eyes to meet Arielle's.

"Wonderful." Arielle said with a smile, her delight dancing in her eyes.

Eden's gaze automatically darted back to her plate. Arielle wondered in silence over that reaction. It seemed that every time she smiled or tried to be warm, the raider's gaze would flinch back as if burned. It puzzled her that all the reactions that would normally gain a person's favor, attention, and even trust seemed to irritate the raider. She rifled through all the reasons that her curious mind could conjure up, but none of them seemed to make sense. She had already seen that Eden had the ability to be warm and gentle, but somehow she simply chose not to be. _Maybe it's the reputation she's living up to? Maybe something happened once?_

After finishing breakfast, they rode back to the markets of Antioch, Eden armed and armored, Arielle dressed in the clothes Eden had given her, a thin shawl covering her head, and with the staff in case she felt tired. Eden could see through the main gate that the streets were bustling with activity and decided to leave the horse outside the gates, away from the crowds. Each carried with them a large shoulder bag and they dived into the market commotion. They walked from merchant to merchant, buying the things they needed. Arielle absorbed the atmosphere like a sponge. She had been in markets before in Avignon, but this one was different. There were different sounds, smells, and colors. The traders were so diverse and from so many different places- Armenians, Franks, Seljuks; merchants from Damascus, Jerusalem, Cairo, Basrah, Rome, and Constantinople. The exotic flavor of it all intoxicated the blond- silk, grains, sugar, oils, wines, gold, spices, linens, silver, ivory, wax, skins, herbs. She seemed to marvel over almost every thing she encountered, wanting soak it up, to know it inside and out. Eden, on the other hand, went about in a very business like manner, spotting what she needed, paying for it, and leaving without dawdling, usually having to shout at Arielle to keep up. After having bought some fruits and vegetables, they went on to buy some bread, a little cheese, and lamb.

When they reached the herb merchant, Eden finally turned to Arielle and looked at her. She took a deep breath and proceeded to tell Arielle what she knew about healing herbs. At first, she thought she was simply indulging the blond in some whimsical idea of hers, but when she noticed the serious attention she was giving to the subject, she took more heart in the matter and actually wanted to pass on all she knew.

"These are cloves," Eden explained patiently and pointing to the different herbs, one by one, "used as a painkiller and antiseptic. Coriander for fevers. Saffron is for infections, though it's hard to find; it's better to use thyme or achillae for that. Balm leaves of Melissa for wounds. Coltsfoot for fever and inflammation. Yarrow helps you sleep. Garlic is good for everything."

Eden went through all the herbs she had used and then went on to explain what other ones did as soon as the blond asked. She could almost see Arielle registering every word in her mind like a diligent scribe, her brows creasing, her eyes focused. Eden noticed a peculiar little warm feeling in her chest. Perhaps because it had been a week since the day they met in the most bizarre of circumstances and Arielle hadn't once run for her life in a hysterical, screaming panic like most did. Or perhaps it was because she was talking about something different than battles or divisions of spoils; something she had to learn herself and that someone was actually listening and not out of fright, but with interest. Arielle looked at Eden who was lost in her thoughts and smiled at her and the sudden realization struck Eden that the blond wasn't terrified of her and it hit a chord deep within her. Arielle leaned against her staff a little more and Eden snapped back into the present.

"Enough scholarship for today." she said, paying for her herbs, "Want to go back?"

"Yes, let's. I am a little tired." Arielle admitted with a small, sheepish grin.

They turned back into the alley where Arielle accidentally bumped into a man.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Arielle said quietly.

"Watch where you're walking, you little piss!" the man shouted, waving his arms and blocking the alley.

Arielle took a step back in shock and felt Eden take a step forward and stand right behind her and heard a deep, low growling in her throat.

"Oh, no, this can't be. Oh, this is just too good!" the man began to shout in menacing laughter.

"What's the hold up there!" a shout came from the back of the little crowd that had gathered in the tight alley.

"Hey, look what we got here, chief!" the man yelled over his shoulder.

A darker, taller, and more formidable man pushed his way through up to the front and when he saw Eden, he simply crossed his arms over his chest and chuckled roughly. Eden suddenly felt the same sensation she had felt in the desert, the charge of protection. She effortlessly shifted around Arielle and now stood right in front of her. Arielle could smell her leather armor and feel a strange strength pulsating off her skin.

"Karas..." Eden growled through her teeth.

"Now is that any way to greet an old friend?" Karas asked, an evil grin on his face.

Eden's hand slid down to the hilt of her sword, which he immediately noticed.

"Ah, ah, ah. Now why would you want to do that?" he asked sarcastically and she watched as eight of his men drew around him as he took a step forward, "You know, I think you should be taught some manners. First, you leave without even saying goodbye and then you don't even say hello. You're getting to be like that little tart."

"Back off, Karas." Eden warned.

"Just some innocent advice." he said, mockingly raising his hands into the air and then resting them on his sword, "I think we could give you both a little...schooling."

"Back. Off." Eden strained through her teeth, feeling a strange energy being pumped through her veins and her muscles strained almost to a breaking point.

"Oh, come on, what's she to you anyway? She's certainly not helpful or useful. And you don't need good company. Everyone knows you have no friends. Isn't that right...Zauba'a?" he sneered.

The mention of the name sent shock waves through the whole crowd of curious onlookers. Arielle noticed everyone begin to move away in absolute fear, whispering the name to their neighbors and praying for themselves all in the same breath. "I heard she killed 10 men with her bare hands and blindfolded. Zauba'a killed Rebecca's daughter, she was only 9 years old. The candlemaker lost his eye in one of Zauba'a raids. She burns down churches, she's a witch! I heard she eats the hearts of the knights she slaughters. She once walked into a school and cut each child in half, my brother saw it with his own eyes. She'll murder us all or sell us to slavers." The remarks bombarded Arielle's ears and mind and she leaned harder against her staff for fear of being buried underneath them all. Eden cursed Karas to every corner of Hell imaginable. He knew that they wouldn't fight in such constricted quarters so he instead turned to a different way of inflicting damage. Plus, if he was lucky, the city people might just carry her outside of their walls on pitchforks themselves.

In the corner of her eye, Eden spied a small corridor in the sea of people that lead down a side alley. Seeing her opportunity, she suddenly grabbed Arielle's arm and pulled her behind her and quickly ran down the alley and turned left and right for what felt like an infinite amount of times before they were finally free of the city walls, the crowd's murmuring, and Karas's booming laugh. Without a word, she nearly flung Arielle onto the horse, mounted herself and galloped away from there as quickly as possible.

Back at the hovel, Eden dropped the shoulder bag on the table, picked up a small pouch off the shelf and stormed outside to a clump of trees off in back of the hovel. Arielle stood near the fireplace trying to think of what to do. She hadn't seen the raider that mad before and the thought of Karas being so near scared her somewhat. The remarks she heard in the marketplace relentlessly swirled in her head to the point that it started to make her head ache. She walked out the door and took a deep breath, trying to calm down. She noticed storm clouds gathering on the horizon. After a few deep breaths, she decided to go talk to Eden.

The blond found her sitting on a rock, under a clump of trees, sharpening her sword meticulously. She approached her from the back, but wisely judged not to come up too close and she stopped a small distance away. She listened to the sliding grating of the stone against the blade, a chilling yet practical sound. She noticed that it had a certain music to it and coupled with the raider's rhythmic movements, it turned into almost a type of dance.

"What does he want with me exactly?" Arielle asked quietly after a few moments of silent observation.

"I really don't know," Eden replied after a while, "but he knows it gets to me." _He knows it'll hurt me._

Arielle stared out into the horizon and Eden continued sharpening her sword. They both wondered if she would be forced to use it one day against him.

"Eden," Arielle started tentatively, her brows furrowing, "those things they said...about you...being a witch..."

The sharpening sound halted and Arielle noticed how blisteringly quiet it became and felt uneasy. Eden sighed heavily and her shoulders slumped.

"What did they say?"

"They said... they said that you burned down churches. Ate the hearts of dead knights. Murdered children..."

"Is that what they think of me?..."

"Is it... I know some of it is crazy... Is what they say..." Arielle stuttered, somehow not able to formulate the potentially destructive question.

"No." Eden said, letting out a deep, slightly aggravated breath, "At least not all of it. I've killed, yes. I've torched and raided, yes. But I don't gorge on dead people, I don't touch any places of worship, and I would never hurt a child. Common peasants and their stupid, revolting imaginations..."

Eden returned to sharpening her sword vigorously. Arielle was ashamed to admit that she breathed a silent sigh of relief. She somehow felt that the tales couldn't be true, but, on the other hand, she couldn't say that she knew Eden at all. She understood, but feared the reputation that had probably kept her alive to this day. The demon horse and the demon rider. No fear in battle, no heart as a weakness.

"It was cruel," Arielle said with a hint of compassion and taking a few steps forward, "how they treated you. And what they said about you having no friends."

Arielle heard the sharpening sound slow down and that heavy sadness that Eden seemed to carry everywhere with her filled the air and hung like thick smoke.

"It was true." Eden admitted so quietly that Arielle almost didn't hear her.

The admission tugged at Arielle's heart. She wanted to tell her that although they didn't know each other, she somehow enjoyed the raider's company. She wanted to tell her that even though she could probably find a hundred sensible reasons against it, she still wanted to at least try to be her friend. She gingerly reached out and put her hand on the raider's shoulder.

Eden jumped up and swiveled around, raising her empty hand in protest and opening her mouth ready to shout out a threat. But she caught the gaze of those innocent green eyes now mixed with confusion and a little embarrassment and found the shout dissipate in her throat. They just stood there for a while, looking at each other in silence, Eden slightly crouched in an almost defensive stance, awaiting attack and Arielle standing straight with her hands folded in front of her, awaiting judgment. Then Eden began to finally relax, standing up straighter and lowering her hand. She sheathed her sword and walked forward a little until she was standing beside the blond.

"Do you like lamb?" she asked with a hint of doubt.

The silence that she was getting in response was making her nervous and she began to think that it was better to just turn around and run.

"Yes, I believe I do." Arielle finally answered, turning to Eden with a small smile.

Eden let out a small breath and they both made their way back to the hovel to roast the lamb over the flames.

A steady rain set in while they were eating their dinner and when they had finished, Eden threw more logs on the fire to keep the hovel warm. The room filled with bright light and they rested on the rug, opposite each other, drinking a weak ale.

"You know, I think that was probably the best lamb I've ever eaten." Arielle said a little dreamily, seeing Eden scoff lightly, "What? No, really, it is!"

"Alright, alright."

"I have an idea. How about I cook tomorrow? I feel a little useless and I'm not too bad around a pot and spit myself." the blond claimed, boldly raising an eyebrow.

"Alright then. If we die of hunger or poisoning, it'll be your fault."

"Hey!" Arielle chuckled.

Eden suddenly tensed and Arielle's laugh and smile disappeared. A few moments later she heard the sound of galloping hooves rumbling through the damp ground. She shifted her eyes to Eden who seemed to turn into one large nerve, picking up the slightest sounds and analyzing them instantly. The horses stopped in front of the hovel.

Eden felt her heart charged again, her blood racing slowly, her body at a tense peace, her being open and unattainable. She looked at Arielle with an intensity that the blond could hardly bear. Arielle saw such an iron gaze of resolution that she would have sworn she could move a mountain or push back the sea with those eyes. Long flames flickered in those oceanic eyes; it wasn't coming from anger, but something else that Arielle couldn't determine, something that seemed far deeper.

"Are you just going to leave us out here in the rain like this?" a shout came from outside, "Like I said, no manners!"

"Listen to me, princess." Eden said with a nearly lethal seriousness, "Stay here. If something happens to me, take the horse and run."

"Wait, what? What are you saying?" Arielle asked, obviously frightened and worried as Eden arose.

"Run and never look back."

Eden rose, turned on her heel, neared the door, opened it and walked out defiantly, leaving an alarmed Arielle still on the rug.

Light spilled out into the night, illuminating the riders somewhat and reflecting off the heavy rain. Eden stood opposite nine drenched raiders and knew that this encounter would not end with mere words.

"Well, well, well. Finally come to show us some hospitality?"

"Leave." Eden replied, her voice sharp like a stone.

"Guess not," Karas remarked, unfrazzled and shifting in his saddle, "You know, I've taken about as much lip from you as I can stand so I'm just going to say this once and for...well, old times' sake. Give me the harlot."

"What do you want with her?"

"Well, we know just how to break in a colt like that. Don't we, boys?" Karas asked, turning around to them and they all jeered, sending a shiver up Eden's spine, "So how about you hand over the little jewel, huh?"

"You know I won't do that."

"What is it with you anyway? You really want to cause such a raucous over that worthless tramp?" Karas asked, tilting his head slightly and leaning forward in his saddle.

"You're the ones who came galloping over here in the pouring rain for nothing." Eden retorted.

"You always were a sharp one," Karas remarked with a heartless chuckle, "and I never did like that very much. Oh, look who graced us with her unbearable presence."

Arielle walked into the doorway of the hovel. Eden turned her head to the side and saw the blond from the corner of her eye, her figure steeped in light, her face full of resignation.

"Eden," she said softly, "maybe I should...You can't fight all..."

Eden's heart began to hammer steadily and she turned her gaze back to Karas.

"You know as well as I do that if I want something, I get it. So hand her over and I'll leave you be." he growled.

Eden said nothing, the humming tension in her body filling her lungs, spilling into her blood, speaking to her. Arielle took the silence as a sign of hesitation and acceptance of Karas's terms. The sound of the blond taking a step forward crashed into Eden's mind with such force that she thought for a instant that her body might just explode. Eden shifted slightly to the side, now fully in front of Arielle, blocking her way.

"Do you really want to give up your life for this wench? Who is she to you anyway? No friend or ally. Have you grown that pathetic and sad? You want to become a martyr not even a dog will remember, is that it?" Karas yelled and his men dismounted, drawing their swords, "I'm warning for the last time!"

"No, I'm warning you. Anyone tries to touch her and I'll make them regret the day they were born." Eden hissed.

"You disgust me," Karas shouted, spitting on the ground near her, "I'll take pleasure in putting your head on the wall of the room where I'll have my way with that bitch!"

The men lurched forward and in flash Eden had her sword in her hand, ready to meet them. She let the terrible calm within drive her actions and she stabbed and slashed in a lethal dance that didn't allow for any mistakes. She flowed with power and grace and Arielle noticed that the raiders looked like badly made wooden puppets in comparison to the woman. The first man fell to a wide swipe of her sword before he could even raise his own. She then shifted her weight onto one leg and launched herself to one side, piercing the man there, pulling out her sword quickly and using her momentum to spin around and thrust her blade into the man rushing her from the other side. Four of the remaining men launched themselves at her simultaneously and toppled her to the ground under their collective weight. They quickly rose and began to batter her with kicks and the pommels of their swords. _Give in. Give up. Just let it go. Have your peace finally. Find the solace you crave. You won't have to feel anymore and no one will ever hurt you again. Just surrender.__  
_

"No!" Arielle screamed as one of the men reached her and grabbed her by the waist.

"Silence!" the man screamed and hit her across the face with the hilt of his sword, letting out a terrifying smack.

"Eden!" she screamed with all her remaining strength as the man dragged her away.

The group of raiders abruptly jumped back as Eden suddenly vaulted upward off the ground and raised her sword, her name echoing in her mind, boiling under her skin. She let out a yell of near madness and hurdled forward, slicing the raider in front of her from the shoulder down to the opposite rib. The two raiders on opposite sides ran at her blindly. She took two steps to the side towards the youngest of the raiders who was scared nearly stiff. He began to slow down and didn't even raise his sword and she struck him in the head with the pommel of her sword, knocking him out. She then turned and fell to one knee, driving her outstretched blade right through the stomach of the charging raider. She pulled the sword out roughly and turned to the raider who grabbed Arielle.

"You really shouldn't have done that." she growled and the raider absently let Arielle gof, a panic beginning to overtake him as Eden began to stomp towards him.

She stared him in the face, piercing him through with eyes like some kind of demonic ice that could suck all of the humanity out of him and he began to tremble.

"I warned you." she whispered.

He suddenly jolted upright as Eden drove her blade up through his throat and out the back of his neck. He stared at her wide eyed and she kept her eyes locked on him, as he slowly slid down to the ground with the life that was seeping out of him. He finally crumpled dead to the ground and she pulled her sword out and breathed heavily.

"Not bad," Karas remarked, dismounting and drawing his sword as he approached Eden, "but like I said, I always get what I want."

"Karas, I'm giving you one last warning now. Leave now and I'll spare you your worthless life." Eden warned forebodingly.

"Oh, sorry, I've got other plans."

"Then, I hope they involve burning in Hell."

"Oh, no, ladies first." he sneered and hurdled himself at her.

His attacks were swifter and stronger than those of the other raiders and Eden, tired and aching, quickly found herself on the defensive. Karas sneered at her, knowing his advantages well and toyed with her, trying to wear her down as much as he could. Yet Eden knew him well and deflected his attempts using as little energy as she could. Karas finally grew annoyed when he saw he wasn't getting much of anywhere and launched himself at her in a flurry of strikes. The night was drowning in the sound of the deadly dance; sharp blades clashing, heavy breaths expelling, steps spinning in the thick mud. Karas grinned as Eden breathed heavily.

"I really don't see what everyone is afraid of." he spat.

"That's your first mistake as usual. It'll be your last." she retorted_._

Karas lurched forward with another furious volley and Eden found each strike harder and harder to deflect. _Just give up. _Karas unexpectedly swung with his left fist and slammed into Eden's face, sending her to one knee with a groan.

"Ha! Pack your bags lovely," he cried to Arielle, "you're coming with me! Oh, I'm going to love you to death. That I promise you."

Eden saw Arielle huddled in the doorway with her arms around herself, her legs giving out and sliding to the ground. She heard her whimpering. She felt her fear. She turned her gaze to Karas as he looked back at her and rose to her feet.

"You sick, disgusting son of a whore." she spat coldly, her eyes freezing over, the charge swelling in her body.

Karas struck, but Eden parried his blow, holding her sword in only her right hand. Karas struck once more, but was deflected again and again. He noticed the awesome ease with which she fought now and felt a fear begin to crawl up his spine that she could easily sense.

"Did you miss me, oh gleam of my heart? Did you pine after your death angel, hm?" she hissed through her bared teeth and with a frigid glare.

Eden now took the offensive, each one of her strikes sending Karas back, stumbling in the mud and rain. Yet it came with a horrifying ease, her motions and aggression pouring out of her like the simplicity of breathing.

"I warned you, you sick bastard. I gave you a chance to save your miserable existence!" Eden raged over the rain, "But you couldn't leave me alone, could you? Well, now I'll send you to the hell I come from!"

Eden launched a barrage of strikes that he finally sank to his knees beneath. And as he hurriedly tried to shift and thrust his sword into Eden's side, she was quicker and plunged her blade between his neck and shoulder and straight down to his heart. His body jolted stiffly, remaining paralyzed for a few moments and then fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

Eden took a couple of steps back, retrieving her sword, breathing heavily and scanned the ground, looking at the havoc she reeked.

"You bastard! You sorry son of a blasphemy! You couldn't just leave me alone? You could've just listened! You soulless sack of pig shit! I hate you! I hate you and everything that came from you, you miserable bastard of a pagan!" she screamed as she paced amongst the dead, dragging her sword behind her.

And then she let out piecing yell, carrying all of her regret, sorrow, and hurt. Because she was the victor, but she had never really wanted any of this. She dropped her sword and sank to her knees and began to cry though no tears came. She pulled on her hair in anguish, her chest heaving in dry sobs, her whole body shaking from her effort that was beyond her means. Arielle heard the cry and saw the slumped black raider and felt something painfully twist within her. She pulled herself up and on her shaky legs walked out into the rainy night towards the forlorn figure. She moved as if by someone else's hand, along a thread she couldn't see and a reason she couldn't remember. Quietly and without reflection, she sank to her knees behind Eden and gently slid her arms around Eden's shoulders and rested her forehead on the back of her neck. Eden only hung her head and let out another cry, this one low, full of her heavy sadness and loneliness. Arielle responded by pulling her arms around her tighter.

A loud stirring caught Eden's attention after a while and she noticed the man that she had knocked out beginning to get up. She gently unclasped Arielle's arms from around her, got up, and walked over to the raider who had stood up and was clutching his forehead in a daze. Eden approached him, grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up so that he was on his tiptoes.

"Everyone else is dead." she told him in a frigid tone, her voice cracking slightly under the strain of her rage and sorrow, "Do you want to join them?"

The raider shook his head, blinking madly.

"Get these bastard friends of yours out of here and I'll spare you. If I see a single shred of them here in the morning, I'll find you and pull your spine out through your throat. Do you understand me?"

The raider nodded and Eden let him go and he dropped to the ground. He looked up to see Eden glaring at him like Death itself and he scurried on all fours over to the first of the bodies and began to drag him back. Eden heard Arielle approach.

"Let's get you out of this rain." the blond said softly and turned to the hovel.

Eden followed her almost unconsciously. She walked back into the hovel, closed the door behind her and faced Arielle who was looking at her. The sight of Eden broke the blond's heart; she was covered in mud, blood, soaked to the core and had the face of someone who had be robbed of everything she held dear. A tear fell from the blond's eye and silently rolled down her cheek. Eden noticed it and followed the tear's path down Arielle's face and neck until it disappeared behind her tunic. She found that tear strangely fascinating, as if it was the first time she actually saw one.

"Don't cry." she whispered hoarsely, her gaze a little blank and lost.

Arielle let out a stifled laugh mixed with a suppressed sob and raised a trembling hand to her lips as more tears threatened to show themselves.

"Thank you. I can't even..." she whispered in a breaking and trembling voice.

"No need." Eden replied shaking her head slowly, the water dripping from her hair and down her face.

"Stop. Just stop it." Arielle said softly, but sternly, catching Eden's attention as she walked forward and threw her arms around the dark-haired raider and succumbed to sobs.

The blond cried shamelessly into Eden's shoulder and for a few moments Eden simply stood there in utter surprise and confusion. Her heart began to hammer again, but this time in a steady echo, willing her to react against her well armed reason. Slowly she lifted one arm and wrapped it around the crying blond. They stood there like that for what seemed to them to be hours; muddy, bloody, soaking wet, and exhausted. Arielle cried over them both, realizing their pain and sacrifices, but not knowing how to help or heal. Eden had saved her life, but she watched her killing herself in the process and it made her feel numbingly helpless; she wanted more than anything to finally do something. Eden simply listened to Arielle's tears, feeling her tremble against her body, her breath settling on her collarbone, her hands resting on the small of her back. It was so gentle, innocent and purely human that Eden was completely awestruck. She felt like a child who was experiencing a beautiful summer's day for the first time. Her fascination struggled with her fear of humanity, but she was too exhausted for this battle and out of all the times she could have surrendered that day, she chose this one.

Eden sighed heavily onto Arielle's shoulder.

"It's alright now. It's alright." Eden tried to soothe.

She gently pulled away from Arielle.

"How about we put on some dry clothes, hm?" Eden suggested and Arielle weakly nodded.

They changed into the last two tunics Eden had, Arielle putting on another skirt and Eden putting on old animal skin leggings. They sat in silence on the rug and Eden made them some tea, willing her hands not to shake. They sat in their usual places by the fireplace and sipped their tea slowly, letting it warm them from the inside.

"Let me take a look at that." Eden said after some time, referring to the nasty bump on Arielle's cheek.

She shifted over closer to the blond, picked up a jar with an ointment and applied it with the same care as before. It almost made Arielle want to cry again. She then noticed a bruise forming on Eden's bare forearm and remembered the beating she took.

"And what about you?" she asked.

Eden looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully as she moved her limbs around. She winced and looked down, pulling her tunic up somewhat absently and revealing a long scratch on her side, below her ribs. She frowned at it slightly and reached for the ointment, but was halted by a hand on her wrist.

"No," Arielle said with a certain insistence, "This time let me. I want to do it. I want to learn. I want you to teach me. You have to teach me everything you know."

Eden looked at her with a baffled curiosity. But the forest green eyes expressed a deep urgency and pleaded for acceptance, for a chance. Yet, Eden saw that they were not the eyes of a naive, giddy, young lady, but someone much wiser and more knowing, who understood and believed in more than human reason allowed. It seemed almost as if an ancient spirit had taken refuge in a girlish body and it spoke to Eden in a silent tongue, asking to be seen. And Eden's emptiness responded, accepting its request for an audience.

Eden lifted her hand from the ointment and Arielle let it slide through and out of her hand. She then took the ointment in her hands and shifted closer to Eden.

"Tell me what to do." Arielle said with decision.

Eden explained and Arielle followed and Eden noticed that the blond's hands trembled, but said nothing. They both checked Eden for any other wounds, finding a couple more scratches, several growing bruises around her midriff, a cut on one arm and the bruise now forming under her eye. Once finished, they looked at each other.

"Sleep. It'll both do us some good." Arielle said before Eden had the chance to say the same thing.

Arielle went to the bed and Eden stretched out on the rug. The hovel fell silent except of the sound of the continuous rain and the crackle of the fire. Arielle stared up at the ceiling, feeling the pressure of Eden's hollowness in her chest and she decided to do something about it. She promised herself that she wouldn't leave Eden like this. She just couldn't.


	8. Chapter 8

Arielle awoke at sunrise with a start, glanced down at the rug and saw that Eden wasn't there. She quickly got out of bed in a panic and rushed out of the hovel, bursting out of the door and sweeping her eyes across the empty, but battered land in front of her, her heart practically hammering in her chest, the memories of the previous night rushing back to her mind.

"Eden?" she called in alarm.

Eden suddenly appeared to her left, emerging from the lean-to where she had stabled the horse.

"What is it?" Eden asked, a little startled.

Arielle just looked at her, blinking, trying to register what she saw. When she finally grasped that what she was seeing was real, she began to calm down and relax.

"Nothing, it's just...a bad dream." Arielle answered.

"Alright." Eden said, a little unconvinced, but deciding not to push the matter and after some thought added, "Come here."

Arielle walked up slowly to Eden and the horse, standing in the opening of the lean-to.

"This is Arion." Eden announced, stroking the black horse's forehead.

From afar, Arion caught everyone's attention; he was blacker than death itself and the shine in his coat almost gave a metallic undertone as if he was armored. Yet up close, he was absolutely stunning. He had a powerful and noble presence. No movement or sound was unnecessary or for show and his eyes were always closely watching, judgments forming in them and reflected back. He was reserved, but held such a pulsating strength that one could think that he would tear apart anyone who crossed him in any way. He was both beautiful and terrible and Arielle found that he reminded her a lot of his rider.

"Arion?" Arielle repeated in surprise and scoured her mind, tapping her finger on her lips, "Arion... I know that name from somewhere... I think... Arion... An immortal, black horse known for his swiftness..."

Eden looked at her a little surprised.

"Oh, well," Arielle mumbled sheepishly, dropping her hand and trying hard not to blush, "um, I read a lot, you know. I like stories. And I have a, um, good memory."

"Well, you're right. I took a while for me to find a good name for him. I found that the old myths of Greece and Rome had lots of interesting... creatures to choose from."

"You chose well. If I believed in myths I would say that the true Arion is standing in front of me right now." she said and saw the corner of Eden's mouth twitch up in a barely visible grin and then fall again. "He really is frightening although even more magnificent. Even if he doesn't like me."

"He's just a one rider kind of horse. It's not that he doesn't like you, he's just rather distrustful."

"Like rider, like horse." Arielle said lightly and then her eyes widened when she had realized what she had said and silently cursed her big mouth.

Eden said nothing, took a few steps towards the horse and began brushing him down, her face unreadable. Arion turned his gaze calmly to the blond and snorted loudly.

"I am so sorry. I didn't mean-"

"It's alright." Eden said, cutting her short and letting out a sigh, "Not that far from the truth, I guess."

If Arielle could, she would have literally kicked herself hard enough to fly over the hovel. She saw Arion turn to Eden, nicker and nudge her arm at which Eden smiled lightly and it only made her feel worse.

"I'm going to make breakfast. Maybe I'll be lucky and accidentally burn my own tongue out." Arielle said in exasperation, tossing her hands up into the air as she stormed back inside the hovel.

Arion snorted again and Eden chuckled lightly.

"Be nice." she said and Arion replied with a shake of his mane.

They ate breakfast quietly. Arielle felt like an idiot, but had no idea how to talk about it with Eden without making it even worse. She didn't know that Eden didn't really mind, she had heard it all before. Compared with the sensation that she was drowning inside herself, Arielle's words meant rather little. There was a strange gnawing in her, like a relentless black dog gorging on her soul ever since the last raid. And though she hadn't been swallowed by it in the end, it was still there, making Eden uneasy and spent. When they had eaten, Eden went out "to do some things" and Arielle left her alone, thinking it best. The raider returned just when Arielle had finished making the dinner she had promised. Arielle had hoped the fresh air and time would have lightened Eden's mood, but she saw there was no change and that there was something bothering her still.

After dinner, Eden rose from the rug and said she was going for a walk, grabbed her sword and left. Arielle let her go, not really knowing what else she could have done. She found her journal, little ink well and quill and spent some time scribbling down the thoughts in her head and the things she had gone through. She finished, closed the journal, and looked around the hovel, feeling rather useless and got up with a sigh and went out for a walk herself. She hadn't gone out to look for Eden; she somehow thought she would find her eventually. She wandered among the trees, rocks, and bushes, trying to keep out of the thick mud that was still in some places. She took in the beginning of a beautiful sunset when she reached the riverbank and watched the deepening light envelope the dark figure sitting at the edge on a large rock. She walked up to her slowly and quietly sat down on a rock beside her. They sat there, both staring out onto the flowing water, finally letting the weight of the previous night's events slide slowly from their shoulders.

"What did he want from me?" Arielle asked quietly, "I just... I just don't understand any of this."

Eden realized that the whole experience with Karas was painful for her. She hadn't harmed anyone and there was a man who wanted to do all the harm in the world to her.

"He didn't really want anything." Eden answered in a sad and knowing tone, "He wanted to have you, like a spoil of war."

"Why couldn't have he just left me alone?"

"He probably would have, but when we met him in the desert, he saw a chance to hurt me as well."

"But you were a part of his band."

"No... I rode with him, but I always kept my distance... He really always hated me because I wasn't... submissive."

Arielle turned to Eden and looked at her with an intense curiosity.

"Eden...why did you ride with Karas at all?"

Eden exhaled loudly. The question seemed simple, but it was, in fact, complicated and sometimes she herself felt that she didn't have an answer.

"Sometimes I don't know." Eden replied slowly and quietly, looking out onto the water and watching the setting sun turn it to black and gold, "I just... I was... I was... wild. No path. No purpose. And he just kind of appeared and I had nowhere else to go, so..."

"Were the both of you somehow...?"

"Oh, God, no." Eden snorted, "Karas was heartless. And I... well, I'm a demon, remember? No, it was out of punishment more than anything else. And now... well, don't really know what now..."

Eden's voice trailed off and she drew her knees in and wrapped her arms around them, close to her chest, resting her chin on top of them. In the light of the setting sun and dressed in something other than her black clothes, Arielle suddenly noticed how delicate Eden actually looked. She saw a young woman, gazing out in front of her with unspoken questions in her eyes. She looked hurt, lost, and alone, very in need of some quiet and a friend. It stunned the blond to the very core when she remembered the completely opposite version of Eden from the day before. Fierce, frigid, and unstoppable, she seemed almost inhuman. She had survived thinking that her greatest gift was that of taking life. But now she saw that it was also her greatest curse.

When the sun had almost completely disappeared, Eden finally got off the rock and the both of them headed back to the hovel quietly.

"So what will you do now?" Arielle asked, linking her hands behind her.

"I don't know," Eden said in frustration and disgust with herself, fiddling with a blade of dry grass, "probably ride around in circles until I hit something again. Just like a whirlwind..."

Arielle said nothing, but knotted her brows and gazed at the ground in front of her.

"Have you planned out the rest of your pilgrimage?" Eden asked a little later with a slightly calmer tone.

"Yes... for the most part. I found some travelers at one of the inns in Antioch, they said that they could take me along. They leave tomorrow..."

"That's... good." Eden replied curtly and sped up a little, wanting the awkward conversation to end.

They went back inside and Eden took her black tunic, a needle and thread, sat down near the fireplace, and began quietly mending the tears. Arielle sat on the edge of the bed and idly moved some things from one place to another, pretending she was packing. The mending felt wrong to her. The black tunic was torn for a reason and mending it was a kind of surrender. Eden meticulously worked away at the blood-stained, black fabric, resigned to being the demon everyone saw in her. The blond would have never for the life of her interrupted the raider, but their was some deeper instinct pushing her to go and finally do something. _You can't be scared of everything for the rest of your life_. She finally tossed the bundle she had in her hands back onto the bed and got up, walked over to Eden with resolve and sat down next to her.

"No." she simply said, covering the tunic with her hand.

Eden first looked at her with surprise that then quickly turned to annoyance.

"What are you doing?" she asked rather sharply and Arielle swallowed.

"Leave it alone. Leave it ruined."

"Why would I want to do that? What would I wear then, duchess, hm?"

"Eden... you, you're not a demon... You don't need this." Arielle stammered out quietly and tried not to collapse under the suffocating silence that fell over them.

"What would you know about me?" Eden finally answered in a low growl and that made Arielle begin to tremble, knowing she was treading a fine line.

"I may not know much, but I know you are not like Karas."

"You know nothing about me. You don't know the things I've done, the things I've seen." Eden continued to growl practically through her teeth, her eyes beginning to freeze, her body starting to coil up as if about to strike.

"I've seen enough to know that what I'm saying is true." Arielle countered, determined to hold her ground and looking straight into Eden's eyes, "If you were the demon you say you are, then you would have let me die in the desert like a squealing pig. But instead you saved my life more than once. Everyday you have the chance to decide who you will be. Maybe it's time for you to start being a warrior instead of a demon. Stop being Zauba'a and begin being Eden of Florentia."

Arielle's heart raced in her chest so violently that she was afraid it might burst through her ribs and run off. Eden stared at her in a stony silence. The icy blue and emerald green clashed, their gazes locked. Arielle could almost see the waves of Eden's turmoil crashing in her eyes, the blond's arguments beating against the raider's own. But then Eden's vision emerged in the middle of the squall and she realized that some of the images had already become part of her real memory and some of the words had gained meaning. She had to choose between taking something on faith alone or probably never having faith in anything again; faith was such a fragile thing, but it was practically all she had left. Arielle watched the waves slowly calm, the ocean become placid, and the ice melt. They had both been holding the black tunic and Eden looked at it and slowly let it go. Arielle watched the raider moving her hand away and thought that she might just jump through the roof in relief. She held the tunic for a while in her hands and then squeezed it into a tight ball.

"This is where this always belonged." she stated and tossed the tunic into the fire.

Eden's gaze simply moved with it and she watched the flames devour the tunic, turning it into a black smoke that vanished up the chimney. Eden's gaze didn't leave the fire and for a moment Arielle began to worry if she hadn't pushed too far and too hard and if she had burned the woman along with the tunic she hated. Eden continued to look into the fire long after Arielle had gotten back up to pack and was still sitting there when the blond told her that she was going to sleep. Finally, under the heavy lids of the eyes that decided to finally defy her, Eden let herself fall asleep.

* * *

Darkness. Silence. And a bright yet easy light. The flame and snow she had grown to know so well.

"Eden."

"Gabriel."

"It's good to hear you speak my name." he noticed with a smile, "It is time."

"No Archangel, I can't..."

"Why?" he asked, titling his head slightly.

"I've killed. I've killed, murdered, and destroyed. My punishment for my evil was only more evil. I'm tainted, corrupt,... an abomination. I am not meant for this."

"You are mistaken. You are already on that road, Eden."

"Please, not me. I'm not worthy of it. I'll only bring more shame and dishonor. It can't be true that I am a chosen one.

"Eden, even the most precious of stones are hidden under mounds and mounds of earth. God sees your deeds, but He also knows your heart. Do you really presume that the Creator of all things would make an unwise decision?" he asked gently.

Eden shook her head slowly.

'Eden...'

"But I've killed... I killed Karas, his men. I just wanted to be left alone." Eden admitted quietly.

"You took lives Eden, but you also chose to endanger your own for another. The power you felt there was not that of the damned." Gabriel stated and walked up closer to Eden until he was standing right in front of her, "You felt it more than once, Eden. And you know the difference between that force and others."

Eden hung her head, but had to agree.

"Do you know why you are chosen?" Gabriel asked and Eden raised her head and shook it, "You are not chosen for your purity, piety, or innocence. You, guardian, you have been chosen precisely for the fact that you have seen such evil and destruction. You have felt it, tasted it, toyed with it even, yet you never succumbed to it. You were driven back, but never defeated, you sank, but never drown."

"That doesn't change the things I've done."

"No, but your knowledge of evil can help you combat it. How can you vanquish the monster if you know not where it lurks?"

Eden understood the archangel's reasoning, but somehow found it hard to accept. Gabriel sighed.

'Eden...'

"You were a chosen one before your eyes opened in this world. The Creator knew what would come to be, yet never once renounced His decision. If there is no other way for you to see this, then see it as a new war. You are being given a path to redemption and the solace that you so desire."

_Solace. Yes, I do want to finally know peace so much._

"This isn't a cruel trick?"

"No," Gabriel answered, a small smile forming, "this is no trick, my ever suspicious guardian."

Eden sighed deeply.

"Show me." she told the archangel.

Gabriel looked straight at her with eyes of pure flame and images flashed in her mind for a brief moment, telling her of where she was to go and fragments of what may come to pass. He then closed his eyes and reopened them again, his eyes turning back to warm sparks. Eden looked at him wide-eyed in near disbelief.

"But that means-"

"Yes."

"So I...that feeling...I knew..."

"Yes."

"Does that...is that...no, that can't be..."

"That is of things whose time is not present."

Eden tried to wrap her mind around what she had seen and the words of the archangel and only seemed to come up with even more questions. Gabriel felt her uneasiness and confusion.

'Eden...'

"Have faith, Eden, in your Creator and in your heart." he said warmly and she looked at him a little warily.

"I do not promise you anything archangel. But that you already know." she finally said and Gabriel put his hand on her shoulder.

"Be not afraid, Eden, guardian warrior, elect of Michael, chosen of God the Creator. The Lord, your God shall fight with you. Pax Domini." the archangel said, turning to leave.

"Gabriel?"

"Yes?" he asked, turning back to her.

'Eden...'

"Whose voice is it that I always hear calling my name? In the distance. Like a whisper."

Gabriel smiled.

"The voice belongs to the one foretold on your pendant."

And with that the archangel disappeared and Eden awoke with a start. It was the middle of the night and only the crackling of the fire could be heard. She lay back down and calmed her breathing and racing heart. She fell asleep again, feeling the black gnawing in her soul slowly disappear.

* * *

Arielle awoke, opened one eye and noticed with disgust that it was only nearing dawn. She was about to turn over and go back to sleep when she noticed Eden sitting in a chair next to her and staring up at the ceiling.

"Are you alright?" she asked in sleepy and muffled confusion.

"Yeah. Why?" Eden asked, turning her head to look at the blond.

"Because it's still dark outside and instead of sleeping, you're sitting beside me, staring at the ceiling, twirling a dagger around in one hand much too close to your face for my comfort. That's why."

"Oh." Eden said and slowly put the dagger down on her lap and returned her gaze to the ceiling, "I was just thinking... where to go, what to do..."

"Oh. Well, you know, everything always looks worse in the dark." Arielle commented sleepily, "In the morning, maybe you'll see things better. There's no rush. We're in no hurry. We'll think of something..."

And there was Eden's answer; "they" weren't in a hurry, "they" would think of something. She turned her head back to the blond whose eyes had almost closed again.

"Actually, I think I have a plan."

"See?...s'good..." Arielle mumbled drowsily.

"Sleep now."

"Mhm..."

Arielle fell asleep and Eden returned to twirling her dagger around. She searched everywhere, but the gnawing was gone. The charge, now a constant, gentle murmur, took its place.

* * *

"Arielle... Arielle..."

Arielle looked around, but saw no one and nothing, only total darkness.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Arielle..."

"Where are you?"

"Arielle... Protector..."

"Who are you? What do you want?" Arielle asked demandingly.

A light began to appear in the darkness, but didn't form into any shape in particular. The blond peered towards the light and though small, it hurt her eyes and she shielded them with her hand.

"What do you want? What are you?"

"Arielle... Do not fear me... Jerusalem... Arielle, be not afraid... in Jerusalem, protector..."

"Tell me who you are! Why do you call me protector? What is in Jerusalem?"

"Be not afraid..."

The light began to fade almost as quickly as it appeared.

* * *

When Arielle awoke, she felt a little foggy. The words of the dream echoed clearly in her head though she had no idea what they meant and whether to treat them with any kind of seriousness. She had read the writings of monks and priests about visions, that angels, saints, and God Himself came to man in visions during the day and in dreams. She shook her head a little and decided to think about it later. She noticed that Eden was up and about as usual, busy at the table making an unusually large amount of food.

"Morning. What are you doing?" Arielle asked, getting out of bed and walking up drowsily to the raider and sitting down opposite her.

"Food. Rations. For the road." Eden answered, concentrating on what she was doing.

"For me? Oh, you didn't have to go through all the trouble..."

Eden simply shrugged. Arielle leaned back in her chair and sighed. _Of course, all in a day's work I'll bet_. She looked at the raider compassionately and shook her head lightly.

"You know," she said quietly, "I wouldn't have minded if it was you I was traveling with now and not those... from the inn..."

Eden stopped her work, sighed heavily, and leaned back in her chair, catching the blond's gaze.

"Would you really want to travel with me?" she asked with knotted brows and a tone that betrayed a real, deep doubt that anyone would want to do such a thing.

About a hundred things ran through Arielle's head, but everything seemed to be something she couldn't say, didn't know how to say, didn't know if she should say, a lady shouldn't say, wouldn't say to Eden for fear of the loss of a limb.

"You know," Eden added carefully, "I happen to have a friend in Jerusalem... I haven't seen him for a while..."

There was an immediate gleam of recognition in Arielle's eyes and a grin that crawled across her lips that was all the answer Eden really needed. _Faith._

"It's settled then." Arielle decided and started happily munching on some dates before Eden could get them out of her reach.


	9. Chapter 9

Eden watched as the blond, who she usually had to practically threaten to get her to hurry and move along, now flew about the room restlessly from one place to another with a huge smile on her face. It started to make Eden dizzy and she had to ask her four times before Arielle finally sat back down.

"Listen, I can see that you're... full of energy, but if we're going to make this trip, we need to plan it out. The road is much longer than the one here and it's dangerous... We need to be a lot better prepared."

"Yeah, sure, dangerous, mhm, prepared, got it." Arielle repeated, but her face betrayed that she wasn't listening at all and she had to hold on to the chair to keep from bouncing off of it.

"Duchess..." Eden grumbled and gave her a serious look.

The look made Arielle settle down immediately and she gazed back at the dark-haired woman thoughtfully for a few moments. _She looks nice with her hair tied back like that_.

"Yes, yes, you're right, I know." she said, a mischievous grin forming in the corner of her mouth, "And I think the perfect place to start preparations would be some new clothes for you."

Eden blinked twice with some surprise and Arielle grinned triumphantly.

"Well, you did say yourself that you don't really have anything to wear other than the black tunic and with that gone..." Arielle explained with sarcastic innocence, "Unless, you decided to go romping around the desert like an Amazon."

"Oh, I sense trouble." Eden muttered quietly and with a little anguish.

"Yes, clothes," Arielle continued, ignoring the comment, "And the barber. Though with hair like this I'll probably be a less likely target for new raiders. Some equipment probably. Those herbs. Let's just buy all of them and I can figure out what they do later. Oh, and food, yes lots of food..."

Eden's head slowly sank into her hands and she began to wonder if this wasn't just another cleverly disguised curse. But there was a part of her that took a little delight in the cheerful rambling of the young blond. _It's...pleasant._

"Alright, alright." Eden said, raising her head and stopping the blond, "I need you to listen to me."

"Yeah, listening." Arielle answered, blinking.

"I'm serious. This is serious. You may not want to go."

"Oh. Alright, I'm listening." Arielle said and became a little more serious.

"Like I said, the road is dangerous. And traveling with me, well, it doesn't make it any easier."

"I beg to differ. Have you ever seen yourself fight?"

"But I also draw trouble. Pilgrim trains are usually raided and left alone. With me, on the other hand, it may get a little...ugly. I'm rather well known... amongst the wrong kind of people."

"Oh, I see what you mean..." Arielle replied and creased her brows, emersing herself in deep thought.

Eden watched her carefully. She was sure that the blond was finally starting to realize what kind of person Eden in truth was and that traveling with her wasn't the best of ideas. She wanted to give her a chance to back out, for her own safety. Eden shifted slightly in her chair, waiting for Arielle to try to break the change of mind to her.

"Maybe I should get a weapon?... I did say I wanted to learn, didn't I?... What do you think?" Arielle finally said after some time and looked at Eden in all seriousness.

Where Eden saw a chance for her to go back to her life, Arielle saw a chance to finally tear herself away from it. Though a chance to have her "silly adventures and stories" out of her system and have some sense restored in her pretty little head was her parents' intention of her pilgrimage, Arielle had something different in mind. For her it was chance to finally experience all the adventures and wonders that she had only read about her entire life. She wanted to make her literary escape real, she wanted to see, feel, taste, and smell all the things that lived in her mind. Although she thought that eventually she would probably settle down into the life that everyone expected of her and said would bring her happiness and meaning, she knew that there was a part of her that didn't fit in. She had a secret hope that maybe in the Holy Lands she would find something that would finally bring that part some solace. Now, she perhaps saw her chance to become a person she wasn't ever supposed to be.

Eden was surprised by the reply, but saw the sobriety of the blond's expression. Eden wondered a little over the younger woman. There were times where she lived up exactly to her image- young, naive, giddy, and innocent if not a little absentminded. She could image the blond in a rose colored dress, dancing in all merriness with other girls, blushing under the stares of interested boys. Yet, there were other times when the green eyes would shimmer, unveiling a dark, rich forest full of many more secrets than could be seen at first glance. There would be a mature attentiveness of a sage, gentle understanding of an old mother, hard experience of a fighter. The stark difference between the two images perplexed Eden and she wondered which of the two the blond really was or whether she was neither in the end.

"You want to wield a weapon?" Eden asked after getting over the strange look in Arielle's eyes.

"Yes. This seems like a chance to finally do so. You said it's dangerous. Maybe if I had a sword or something I could teach those raiders a thing or two." the blond responded, the playful innocence returning to her eyes.

"Well, I guess you might need one in the end... For protection..." Eden said slowly because now, innocent or no, to her it seemed like she was trying to tell a hippo that it would have to climb a tree.

"But don't I have you for that?" Arielle shot out, blinked in her stupidity, and prepared herself to hide under the table if need be.

"First of all, I'm not your servant or squire." Eden snorted and crossed her arms over her chest, "Secondly, I can't always be right next to you. Your little rendezvous in Antioch is a good example."

"Yes...you have a point. I guess you're right."

"Thirdly, I'm always right." Eden added in good humor and the blond's grin returned. "That said, you can still back out now-"

"No, thank you." Arielle answered swiftly with a little theatrical sniff.

"Alright then." Eden stated, leaning back in her chair, a tiny grin hovering in the corner of her mouth. "It seems we have a plan...more or less."

"Well then let's go to the market!" Arielle exclaimed, bounding suddenly off of the chair and out of the hovel, almost hitting the door on her way out.

"Going to be a long day..." Eden muttered under her breath.

* * *

Arielle squirmed on the ride to Antioch so much that Eden had to tell her to sit still three times.

"What's gotten into you?" Eden asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh nothing. I'm just... excited." the blond answered, widening her eyes and grinning widely.

"Oh, dear Lord." Eden exhaled quietly and Arion snorted loudly.

When they arrived in Antioch, Eden suggested they start at the armorer first and they went to the same one where Eden had last been. The armorer seeing Eden greeted her warmly.

"Aye, if it isn't the lady that wouldn't shame a Templar. Say, you wouldn't be here with a complaint now?"

"No, no. Just some additional things I need."

"Ah, good to hear." the armorer said relieved and then turned his gaze to the blond standing right in back of Eden, "And so what would it be that the lady is looking for?"

"The lady doesn't seem to know yet." Eden intervened after Arielle opened her mouth three times, but couldn't get a word out.

"I see. Well, feel free to take a gander, little maiden. See if there ain't something to your liking." he offered and then walked to the back and returned to some work.

"Am I really 'little'?" Arielle asked, peering up with girlish, mossy green eyes at Eden when she turned around.

"Yes." Eden replied flatly, "Now go take a gander."

Arielle frowned, dissatisfied with the answer, spun around on her heel, and began to look at all the weapons while Eden took a few moments to appreciate the blond's young and somewhat sheltered innocence here where it wouldn't do either of them any harm.

Arielle lingered over and picked up a longsword with both hands and a smile only to drop it automatically with a tiny grunt. Eden rolled her eyes and approached her.

"Maybe you'd like to choose something... more for you." she suggested, picking up the longsword with one hand like it was a feather and ignoring Arielle's wide-eyed gaze while she put it back.

The blond put her hands on her hips, pretending to be insulted.

"Fine, maybe I don't have the same strength as you do, but not everyone has to wield a sword, you know." she said.

"Really? Well then what weapon do you want to wield... lady?" she asked with a smirk.

"I'm still thinking about that." Arielle answered, theatrically lifting her head a little to the side.

Eden rolled her eyes and sighed. They looked at different weapons, but Arielle felt ill at ease with them. They looked at armor and shields also, but without knowing what weapon Arielle would have, choosing armor was pointless. And suddenly the blond stopped and turned around to face the slightly taller woman with a glint in her eye.

"I know." she declared with satisfaction.

"You chose something?"

"A bow."

"A bow?"

"A bow." Arielle confirmed with a nod.

"Really?" Eden asked, folding her arms and raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, really. I am not simply an elegantly dressed woman and nothing else. Come with me oh ye of little faith." she said in a light huff and walked out armorer's and to the fletcher across the alley.

"Morning." said the fletcher, grabbing his back, "By Christ's nails, I'm getting old. What can I do for you?"

Arielle stood in the middle of the shop, her hands defiantly on her hips, and scanned all the hanging bows inside. Her eyes moved from one to the other until they final rested on a bow, a little hidden in the corner, slightly smaller than the others.

"That one." she stated, pointing to it.

The fletcher scrambled over to it and pulled it down.

"There you are, love." he said handing it to her, "Shortbow of fine quality that one. For horseback even if need be. Designed right here in Antioch. Good range out of that one, tried it myself. And made out of yew, it is, as durable as a Crusader. Holy Mary, I swear I broke something this time."

"Thank you. I'll be right back." the blond said and swiveled on her heel, "If I could have your attention please, Eden."

Arielle walked purposefully out of the workshop, grabbing an arrow on her way and waited for Eden to stand next to her.

"Choose a target." Arielle said and waited.

"There." Eden said, pointing to a tall, yet slender basket on a second story balcony of a building about 250 meters away.

Arielle took an archer's stance, ignoring Eden's cocked eyebrow and a few baffled onlookers, took the arrow, nocked it, drew it, aiming at the target with strained concentration, and let the arrow fly. Eden watched the arrow sail through the air and hit its mark with ease. The blond faced Eden, leaning against the bow and put her other hand on her hip with an 'I told you so' written all over her face. Eden crossed her arms, looked at the arrow, and then back at the blond.

"Not bad." she remarked, "A bow it is then."

The blond's face lit up with triumph and she bounded back to the fletcher's shop with a big smile on her face.

"I'll take it!" Arielle announced to the fletcher. "And a quiver of arrows. Oh, and some wax and an extra string."

"Long or short bodkins, miss?"

"Hmm... make it half and half."

"Right away, young lady." the fletcher responded with a grin and then clutched his back, "Oh, this back is definitely giving me the jib again."

After they left the aching fletcher, they went back to the armorer and the rest of the day seemed to turn into a colorful, yet tiring blur. They moved from merchant to merchant looking, trying on, arguing, debating, arguing some more, complaining, requesting adjustments, and haggling. Eden would provide her knowledgeable eye and Arielle would talk her way into a better deal. They had finally purchased all their armor and weapons, clothes, equipment, and food. Somewhere in the middle of all of that, they passed the barber.

"Oh. A lovely afternoon to the lovely ladies! You come to Samir! Samir welcomes you!" cried out the barber happily, throwing his hands up in the air.

Both of the women stopped and stared at him, Arielle grinning in amusement, Eden scowling with annoyance.

"I did say I needed to go to the barber." Arielle pointed out to Eden quietly.

"Oh, lovely lady come for snip snip from Samir! Good choice, good choice! Samir turn you into a queen... Oh, you find such handsome prince after you leave Samir. Oh yes, you find king, become queen of great kingdom. When you are queen, you remember good Samir, yes?"

Arielle let out a little laugh while Eden rolled her eyes.

"Are you sure?" Eden asked, eyeing the smiling barber roughly and realizing that he kind of looked like a shorn sheep dressed as a court jester.

"Of course. He's harmless, just a little... overenthusiastic. He's funny." Arielle giggled.

"Come, come, royal lady! You travel far, have many hardships I see. Samir make you look like jewel again. You will be emerald of the East..."

Arielle giggled again and Eden thought that she just might throw up if she heard any more.

"Fine. I'm going to the blacksmith for some new shoes for Arion. I'll meet you back here." Eden decided, gave the barber one more hesitant look, and walked off.

"Ah, come noble lady. Samir will make you jewel of Byzantine Empire. Samir is king of snippety snip snip, yes.."

Eden came back to the barber's after a while, silently thanking her luck that some things were to be picked up the next day and she didn't have to carry it all around now. The blacksmith was nearly on the other side of the city and the whole hustle and bustle was tiring and making her irritated. _I never did like crowds. _As she neared the barber's entrance, Arielle came practically bolting out of it, in her shawl, with a very jovial Samir right behind her.

"I tell you, gentle lady, Samir is worthy of praise! Ah, you return, oh dark, mysterious maiden." he said, noticing Eden and bowing slightly and Arielle had to hold back a giggle while Eden had to hold back an urge to cover him in horse manure.

"Let's get out of here, he's already started naming my children... and grandchildren." Arielle whispered hurriedly and the both of them made a dash around the corner.

They were about to finally return to the hovel when they passed the stables and Arielle suddenly froze. Eden noticed after a few steps and turned around.

"What is it?" she asked a little tiredly.

"I... I..." Arielle stuttered.

Eden sighed and walked to the blond to see what the problem was. She glanced around, but saw nothing and was about become annoyed when she saw what had captured Arielle's attention. In the corner, a little farther away than the other horses, stood a beautiful chestnut horse. The horse caught sight of them looking at him and as if on cue, slowly trotted up to them. They had seen brown horses before, but this one was unique. His chestnut coat shone in the sun, letting off metallic reflections and the powerful muscle rippled beneath it. Yet Eden was struck mostly by his blond mane and green eyes. He was powerful, but stood with such calm and looked so gentle that Eden almost thought he wouldn't be able to step on a fly on the ground. He reminded her so much of the blond that it was almost uncanny.

"That's my horse..." Arielle whispered almost breathlessly.

"I know..." Eden replied similarly.

They rode back to the hovel, laden with their goods and Arielle on her new horse. The road back this time was quiet; Eden was tired of all the noise and Arielle was preoccupied with finding a name for her horse and she scoured her memory for mythical and magical beasts to name him after. When they finally arrived at the hovel and dismounted, Eden turned to see a widely grinning Arielle.

"Let me guess, you named him."

"I did. Xanthus."

"Xanthus?"

"Well, if you have a mythological stallion, why can't I? He was an immortal horse belonging to Achilles, blond and endowed with speech."

"Well, if he's endowed with speech then he's definitely your horse." Eden drawled a little tiredly, pulling the heavy saddlebags off of Arion and going back into the hovel while Arielle huffed and put her hands on her hips.

They ate in silence, both a little spent from the hectic day at the market. After eating, Arielle had unintentionally fallen asleep and Eden took her sword and went outside to alleviate her nervous tension with some weapon practice. She felt better with her blade in her hand and out in the wide open. People seemed to drive her crazy quite quickly; they had such a tendency to destroy things and hurt others. No one knew that better than she did. And though she didn't go around picking fights or being consciously aggressive, she also had no intention of being overly friendly. She just approached everyone indifferently and acted the same way others acted towards her. She whipped her blade through the air, slicing and disarming her invisible opponents. The tension poured out of her muscles, replaced by something much more natural and simple. _This is the closest I get to feeling alive._

When she had finally drilled herself into a pleasant exhaustion, she returned to the hovel and stood in the entrance, turning her sword around in her hand.

"Is something wrong?" Arielle asked when she saw the dark-haired woman standing and staring down at her sword.

Eden looked up at her for a moment with somewhat of a pained look. _No, there is no use in even searching for the words._

"No... nothing." she replied, looking back down and turning to her tasks and leaving the blond a little perplexed.

They spent the rest of their time checking their supplies, setting the herbs out to dry, putting aside some pieces of meat and fish to dry also. Eden repaired some wear she saw in her saddlebags and Arielle tore some of Eden's cloths into bandages. They worked quietly, Arielle making a comment every now and again and never receiving more than a 'mhm' from the older woman.

When night had fallen, Eden rose to go. She silently put on her new, hooded, black cloak and fastened her sword.

"I'll be back soon." she managed to say.

Arielle watched her wordlessly as Eden mounted Arion and rode off into the dark night. The blond wrapped her arms around herself, trying to ward off a slight chill at the thought that Eden wasn't coming back and had just left her there. _Would she?..._

Not long after, Eden finally arrived at the church of St. Peter and dismounted. She approached the door and knocked on it three times. It creaked open after a few moments and an old, but alert monk stood in front of her. A hooded woman in front of the church in the middle of the night was not an everyday occurrence and he observed her closely. She raised her gaze to meet his and he peered at her with intrigue. He saw her blue eyes flash for a moment in the light of the moon.

*"Quis es?" he asked, his gray eyes peering at her in curious scrutiny.

"Miles et bellator Dei sum." Eden answered in a low, clear and nearly inaudible voice.

The monk knotted his brows and gazed at Eden in perplexed suspicion. He regarded her entire stance with his perceptive, experienced eyes.

"Num miles gloriosus es?"

"Curator Dei sum." Eden replied and reached around her neck and pulled out a chain with pendant to which the monk responded with a startled look that then gave way to a slow nod, "Missit me Dominus."

The monk shuffled out of the way and outstretched his arm, ushering her inside.

Arielle leaned her forehead on the window, staring out into the night until her eyes slowly slid closed. She felt the coolness of the window against her skin, hearing the crackle of the fire that was throwing dancing shadows against the walls. Her mind's eye peered out into the darkness that had swallowed Eden earlier. She melted into the near silence of Eden's absence and the velvet night, feeling it's subtle energy, almost being able to sense its presence in the air and hear its movement through the passing of time. She felt at ease with a faint sense of belonging.

'Arielle... Protector...'

Her eyes flew open upon hearing the distinct whisper and she scanned the interior, but found no one there. _What is going on? __Am I going mad? Am I making a spectacle of insignificant things?_

Eden was cradling her sword almost like a baby, the blade glistening with beads of water rolling down it, the monk with his hand every so gently placed on the tip of her shoulder. The monk led her to the door and then faced her.

"God speed to you, sister. May He watch over you, Eden."

The woman responded with a small smile.

"Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto." the monk began, making the sign of the cross over her.

"Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula seculorum. Amen." Eden finished.

She left the church quietly and heard the door behind her close as she mounted her horse and rode off, cradling her sword in her lap.

Eden returned as quietly as she had left and found Arielle sitting at the table, watching the door. They both noticed peculiar looks on each other's faces. Arielle had one of concerned deliberation and Eden had one of a strange, humble surrender. Neither said anything.

Finally, Eden took out a clean cloth, kneeled down in front of the fireplace and began to wipe down the blade gently and thoroughly. Arielle observed her for a short while, her head tilted slightly to the side. It was a brilliant sword that despite all of the battles it had seen, seemed to gleam defiantly like it did from the day it was forged. It beamed almost as if holy itself, the hilt wrapped in black leather, the hand guard slightly down turned, the pommel with an engraved cross in the middle that was stained black in contrast to the pommel's shining silver. To Arielle, the blade seemed so massive and brilliant that nothing would be able to even scratch it, not to mention destroy the blade entirely. It was an elegantly regal sword, but deceptivelyy deadly and the blond noticed how much it really reflected the woman holding it.

"Where did you go?" she asked inquisitively.

"My sword..." Eden answered quietly, her eyes still resting upon it, "I had it... cleansed."

Her tone told the blond that something special indeed had taken place. There was some ceremony or ritual that the down-to-earth, realistic woman fighter was convinced had made her blade new.

"And you?" she asked very quietly.

Eden sighed and stopped working for a few moments. She then restarted.

"No. I've done too much." she admitted.

"You will be cleansed too, Eden. One day." she offered and met her gaze as Eden looked up at her from underneath her burden of sadness.

"Perhaps."

They returned to their chores, finishing them neatly before going to sleep in silence.

Eden woke up the next morning just as the sun was peeking through the window. She looked out of it and was grateful for what seemed like what was going to be good weather. She casually turned her head to the sleeping Arielle. She finally had the chance to see her in her new hair. She wondered why she had kept her shawl on the whole time and then wondered why she hadn't seemed to notice that earlier. Her hair was shorter, down to her neck. Eden looked at how the sunlight caught the blond hair and turned it into a fine gold and Eden found it very...beautiful. As soon as the word appeared in her mind, she angrily chased it away. _But it's true. And in the light of a pure morning, she is just as beautiful as her golden hair._

* * *

*-Who are you?  
-I am a soldier and warrior of God.  
-You are a glorious/boastful warrior, aren't you?  
-I am a guardian of God. The Lord has sent me.

-Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:  
-as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.


	10. Chapter 10

_Xena: "I felt that way once. I felt there was nothing left to live for. I was tired of hurting and I just wanted it to end." _

_Gabrielle: "What changed it for you?" _

_Xena: "You did."_

* * *

The two women seemed to now only be a faint resemblance of the people they were when they met. Arielle looked nothing like the traveling pilgrim that Eden had saved. She sat on her brilliant chestnut horse with a poise that showed that horse riding was nothing new to her. Her ladies' dresses were gone. She had thick, dark leather boots that were folded down at the top and dark brown pants. She wore a white shirt over which she had a forest green, long sleeve gambeson with a stiff collar which was covered with a chainmail shirt. On that she had brown, leather armor that covered her torso, shoulders, and thighs and was almost the same color as her horse. Her arms were protected by leather vambraces and darker, leather gloves. Her dark brown leather belt had a short sword hanging from her left hip, a small dagger on her front right hip, and a satchel in the back. While on horseback, she slung her quiver across her back and her unstrung bow was fitted into a long, thin scabbard that the leatherworker had made for her and was attached to the front of the saddle.

Eden's new armor made Zauba'a look like the demonic phantom she was. Arielle had argued, begged, pleaded, explained, and grown almost hysterical until she finally convinced Eden to at least not keep everything black. Eden had thick black boots almost to her knee and black pants. She had a sandy tunic over which she wore a long sleeve gambeson in a deep, blood red color with black hems with a moderately high collar and leather ties down the front. It had five wide, but deep fringes at the bottom that reached halfway down her thighs, somewhat covering her cuisses. On that she had a sleeveless chainmail shirt upon which she wore a breastplate and backplate with pauldrons that reflected brilliantly in the sun and vambraces on her forearms that were slightly covered by black, leather gloves. On a black leather, double wrap sword belt, her brilliant sword hung on her left and dagger on the right. She also carried a rectangular satchel on her belt in the back.

Their horses were laden with the women's equipment, apparel, and the few belongings they carried with them. They both trotted down the main road to Jerusalem with purpose though their reasons differed. Eden's thoughts drifted off to the morning for a few moments. She had been busy organizing Arion's saddlebags and adjusting everything to bring him the least amount of strain. In the hovel, Arielle had changed into her new clothes and gear and suddenly bounded outside.

"Observe traveler!" she shouted happily, outstretching her arms and with a large grin on her face.

Eden turned to look at her and felt her breath catch ever so slightly. Eden saw the almost dangerously naive look on the blond's face; this was all an adventure for the blond, a great harrowing tale from some story about princes and dragons. It annoyed her somewhat, that kind of attitude would get them into serious trouble sooner or later and taking into account the blond's luck, Eden thought it would probably be sooner. But there was something else. She didn't want to admit it and she tried to make sure her face didn't give it away- Arielle was a sight. Eden felt something she hadn't felt in a long time- she was amazed. And it wasn't the kind of look-at-this-field-littered-with-men-I-just-killed-and-to-think-they-were-alive-a-minute-ago amazed but the opposite, the the-strange-beauty-of-this-person-leaves-me-perplexed kind of amazed. The greens and browns Arielle had chosen matched her emerald eyes perfectly and gave a solid, dark contrast to her blond hair. Eden mused for a fleeting second that if she hadn't known better, she would have thought that she had just fallen in love. She scoffed at the thought, sending it scampering away. But even if for just the briefest of moments, the thought had appeared.

"So, what exactly do you do? Like a profession, I mean. If you have one, that is." Arielle babbled out, not long after they left Antioch completely behind them and pulling Eden out of her thoughts.

"A profession?" Eden repeated.

"Yes. Did your father train to do anything? Or..."

"My father." Eden growled out and then swallowed, "My father was a brewer and later tried his hand at being a merchant. He wanted me to learn more about trade. He even went with me to Venetia to see first hand how merchant trade worked. I spent more time staring at ships in the docks than anything else." Eden explained, ending with a shrug.

"Huh. My father is a merchant too, and shipwright. He always thought I wasn't bright enough to learn his trade. He would always say that it's not something for respectable women. He had lessons in music and needlework given to me though I was never quite good at it. Well, except maybe the flute, I always liked that instrument. I naturally grew restless and finally convinced my father to let me learn bookbinding and illuminations. I love books and stories and it wasn't too unladylike a craft and far enough away from being a bard, an idea my father despised. In the end, I always loved telling stories more than binding them."

"A warrior and a bard..." Eden mused half to herself, "Who would have thought?"

"It doesn't sound that bad though, does it? Like a great beginning to an even greater story." Arielle added, "Sounds better than my family. Cecil, the great merchant and shipwright with his wife of fair hair and gentle air and his two daughters- the lovely and quiet Thea married to a knight in shining armor and Arielle the bard... the fool of the family."

Eden cast a glance to the side and saw the blond's shoulders slump and her expression turn sad. She realized that Arielle's family evidently meant a lot to her and couldn't think of why they would be so obstinate towards her. Eden knew better than anyone that there was no forcing anyone into a mold, it only made everyone miserable sooner or later. And she had seen quite a few 'unladylike' ladies in her time and Arielle definitely wasn't one of them.

"Fool, huh?" Eden asked, raising an eyebrow, "Well, I happen to like a good tale. Maybe you'll tell one?"

"Really?" Arielle asked, her spirits lifting at the request, "You would really want me to tell a story?"

"Well, you're a story teller, aren't you?" Eden replied and Arielle showed off a grin.

The bard thought for a few moments and ended up telling the Jewish tale of the river Sambation. Eden listened to the story and watched as the blond grew more and more impassioned with it, moving her arms around, making faces, and changing her voice throughout. When the story ended, Arielle looked at Eden, nervously waiting for some kind of response and Eden wondered for a bit why she had liked the tale as much as she did.

"Your family." Eden drawled slowly, looking ahead of her, "I don't think I like them."

Arielle hung her head to hide a grin that almost threatened to split her face and a blush that colored her cheeks.

A few hours later, Eden noticed a darker spot near the road and as they neared, the spots turned into bodies and once they came up close, they saw the bodies were those of pilgrims. They had most likely been attacked by bandits and they had been the unlucky ones. Or, Eden mused, perhaps they were the lucky ones after all.

"Eden, children..." Arielle, who was right beside her, whispered in a quiet agony.

Eden saw that underneath the overturned cart, two pairs of young legs were jutting out. Eden's jaw clenched and her face turned stony as she stared at the sight as if she couldn't comprehend what she was seeing. And to a certain extent, she couldn't. They were just children and Eden swore silently that if she ever found the people who did this, she would tear them limb from limb.

"If you see anything on the road, tell me." Eden ordered Arielle and quickly dismounted.

She walked up to the bodies strewn beside the road. Women and children. Arrows and sword wounds. _Damn all this_. Arielle watched Eden as she silently picked up a shovel that had fallen out of the wagon and began to dig shallow graves for the victims. She worked silently, severe gravity etched on her face. The blond watched her drag the women into the graves and then the children. Eden laid the second child in the grave and Arielle felt a prick in her heart when she saw her pick up a rag doll from off of the ground and place it on the little girl, wrapping her lifeless arm protectively around it. She covered the bodies with dirt and stones and took some larger rocks which she arranged on top in the form of a cross. She then slowly stood up and for a moment looked out towards the horizon, silent and motionless, as if waiting for someone or something to appear.

"In nomine Patris et fillii et Spiritus Sancti, amen. Requiescat in pace." Eden finally whispered over the grave, making the sign of the cross in the air.

Eden turned back and mounted Arion and Arielle could see a deep trouble manifested in Eden's tense muscles and pulsing jaw with a renounced sadness in the corners of her eyes. Eden nudged Arion forward before the blond could say anything and Arielle silently took one last look at the grave and fell into place slightly behind the disturbed black and red rider.

"It was... it was a beautiful thing you did for those poor people." Arielle finally said after about an hour, trotting up alongside Eden.

"It just had to be done." Eden shrugged.

"A shame only that there was no priest to be found."

"Priest? What did they need a priest for?"

"For the last passage. To pray for their souls and entrance into Heaven." Arielle explained.

"I basically did just that."

"Yes, well, a priest is ordained. He knows how to do such a thing properly."

"Do you honestly think that those poor souls won't find their way to Heaven because a priest didn't stand over them?" Eden asked, somewhat irritated, "Blessings and prayers come from the soul, princess, not the cloth. And God is found in the heart, not a cross hanging about one's neck."

Arielle thought about it a little, feeling slightly offended. For Arielle, it was difficult to reconcile how someone could believe in God, but so reserved towards the Church. Her family was quite religious though she couldn't say that there were none more pious than they were. She had churches, masses, and priests made an integral part of her life ever since she could remember. Anyone who ever ventured to say anything to the opposite was immediately and harshly shunned by her mother and father and would quickly disappear from their lives, mentioned only cruelly in passing during a dinner or outing. Her parents had driven into the very core of her mind that she would never achieve salvation if she shied away from the Church. And, according to her parents, she was the child that needed salvation most of all. There was something different about her; to them something disquieting. But in an afterthought, Arielle realized that there was also something different in her dark-haired companion. She thought it ironic that one similarity between them was the difference everyone saw in them.

"Do you harbor ill will towards the Church?" the blond finally asked quietly.

"I have the same warm feelings towards the Church as it does towards me." Eden answered after a moment, "I've seen more godliness in men you would call infidels or heathens than I have seen in some men of the cloth. I have seen things done in the name of the Lord that would make all the angels fall from the heavens. I will serve and kneel before God only."

"But how can you serve God if you have no reference, no guide? A priest spreads the word of God so that we may be able to at least try to understand and find salvation." the blond asked, growing strangely frustrated with this different perspective.

"We save our souls ourselves, through our deeds, not through listening to others speak. And judgment should be left to the Creator only."

"But who are you to know more than the sons of the Church?" Arielle asked in a tone loud enough that it made Eden turn to look at her, "Who are you, Eden, to know the will of God so well?"

Eden stopped and gazed at Arielle with a hard, stark expression. She felt an anger bubbling up within her, but she used her will to keep it suppressed. She regretted speaking her mind to someone who didn't seem to want to really hear it. _And who are you to think you know who I am? _She said nothing. Arielle couldn't break through the unreadable expression, but something deep within her sensed that there was something more that was hidden deep beneath the surface. _Who are you?_

Eden finally broke the gaze and nudged Arion forward again and Arielle followed; both remained silent. Arielle was annoyed with herself. Eden's ideas were new and inviting; she saw a general sense in them. Yet the moment she tried to plant it somewhere in her mind, echoes of her parents would appear and howl at her. The blond cringed. What was it that she kept doing wrong? She continually tried to see the good in everything, even in those things that saw no good in her, thinking that maybe one day, the good would be reflected back to her. She simply wanted to be accepted and needed, to be seen and appreciated, to be loved. She remembered the nights when she would cry herself quietly to sleep, thinking of how there was always someone who would find something wrong with her no matter how hard she tried and would never shy away from telling her about it bluntly. Especially those who were supposed to love her the most. The blond sighed, recalling the particularly dark and lonely nights when she would dream of a knight that would gallop up to her manor and whisk her away, offering adventure and his heart. And she would imagine her parents shock and protest and the knight raising his lance and challenging them all to a duel because it would be an honor to die for Arielle. And the knight would love her for who she was and not who she should be. It was one of the few things, Arielle noticed, that she carried with her through the years.

Arion snorted loudly as they both noticed a cloud of dust ahead of them, a little off the road.

"Careful." Eden warned Arielle coolly.

They trotted up closer to see a set of travelers fighting off an attack. A group of about 20 exhausted and nearly weaponless pilgrims were desperately trying to fend off around 10 sword wielding attackers all on horseback. They watched as one of the men on horseback cut down a screaming woman trying to run away in no particular direction. They hardly had any weapons or possessions; they were just a group of traveling families all dressed in the one set of tattered clothes that they owned.

"They're just peasants. Damned Turks." Eden said in disgust of this raid unleashed on people who didn't even have anything and then turned to Arielle, "Stay here."

She spurred Arion forward and barreled toward the fight, unsheathing her sword and riding straight into the middle of the skirmish with it gleaming magnificently in the sun. Arielle stayed behind as she was told for a short time and watched Eden battle fiercely and bravely as if she had no idea that she was completely outnumbered. But Arielle had enough of being the helpless one. There was an urge, a great need to break free for some invisible shackles that she felt were holding her down. She wanted to do, she wanted to help, she wanted to be needed. She trotted up closer until she was in bow range and dismounted. She strung her bow and trying to keep calm, decided to even out the odds for Eden a little.

In the thick of battle, Eden was dueling with one warrior when she saw another fast approaching from the corner of her eye. Before she had a chance to think a way out of the situation, she saw an arrow sail through the air and hit the oncoming Turk straight in the upper shoulder, causing him to fall off his horse with a loud groan. Eden used the moment of surprise to suddenly disarm her assailant and backhand him with the broadside of her blade, knocking him to the ground unconscious. She spared a moment to find the source of the arrow and saw Arielle already aiming at another Turk. She didn't have time to figure out whether she was more mad that Arielle hadn't stayed behind or thankful for the assistance, no matter how unnecessary it might have been. Another Turk bolted towards her from the back and she threw herself into the heat of battle again. During the entire fight, Eden realized that Arielle was always somewhere in the back of her mind. Whenever she lost the blond out of her peripheral vision, she would turn ever so slightly until she saw Arielle again.

Eden flung herself towards two Turks dragging away another screaming woman by the hair, elbowing one in the temple so suddenly and powerfully that he collapsed, out cold. The other swiveled around, letting the woman go and quickly pointed a loaded crossbow straight in her face which she coolly knocked back so hard that it flew back into his face and broke his nose, cut his forehead, and sent blood streaming down his face. He cried out in pain, dropped his weapon, and trotted away. Before she could decide whether to chase him down or not, she suddenly noticed that Arielle was nowhere to be seen. She took another quick scan of the land, living, wounded, and dead and still nothing. She felt that charge of protection begin to pulse within her. And then she heard a scream.

Eden didn't need a single second to process whether the scream belonged to Arielle or not; she simply knew. She turned Arion towards the direction of the cry and he sensed her urgency and broke into an immediate, fierce gallop. Eden heard another scream. A few moments later Arielle's struggle came into view from behind a large boulder and time seemed to slow down for Eden. The Turk was straddled on top of a struggling Arielle, intent on wanting to have his way with her. He pulled at her clothes, punching her when she struggled. With one hand, Arielle tried to fight back and with the other was struggling to grab the sword he had carelessly tossed to the side. Eden saw his cruel sneer and the blood running from Arielle's nose. She crouched down in her saddle, her frigid rage turning into one, huge force. Her muscles coiled, aching to strike and a moment before she was right over him she let out a yell which caused him to raise his head and she uncoiled, springing up and then forcibly back down, driving her blade neatly between the Turk's neck and shoulder. He drew in a long breath, shocked and paralyzed, and his eyes wandered down to Arielle. He then gasped loudly, blood suddenly pouring from his mouth, his eyes widening. He sputtered twice and finally leaned over, letting out his last breath, dropping heavily on top of Arielle. The blond then felt the body being flung off of her like a rag doll and strong hands around her shoulders.

"Are you alright?" Eden asked, her voice laced with a frightening rage.

Arielle looked up at Eden in a stupor. Her eyes were wide, her lungs gasping for breath, her limbs sometimes twitching and jerking for no apparent reason. Her mind was having trouble registering what was happening. The bravery of what she had imagined she was doing was wrestling with the reality of battle that has no time or care for such sentimentalities and simply cuts down whoever is standing in the way. There was blood everywhere; on her, on Eden, on the ground. In a frantic attempt to regain control of her spinning mind, Arielle focused on Eden's eyes, two blue orbs like sapphires set ablaze. _She watches me like.._. _like a..._ Eden looked her over quickly. She saw that Arielle's clothes had remained intact; the brute hadn't managed to get much of anywhere and Eden let out an internal sigh of relief.

"I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm okay." Arielle managed to stammer out, slowly regaining control of herself and trying to hold back the fierce oncoming shaking, "Am, am I okay?"

"Yes, you're fine." Eden tried to assure her in a slightly gentler and calmer tone.

"Okay, I'm fine, right? I'm fine." Arielle repeated, not taking her eyes of Eden, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have..."

"Listen to me," Eden began without taking the time to think or listen, "I need you to get up and get back on the horse so we can out of here. Do you think you can do that?"

"Yes, yes, I can, I can do that." Arielle replied and slowly and very shakily got up to her feet.

Eden took a step back and watched the stunned blond take shaky steps over to her bow that was lying on the ground a few steps away and then turn to walk back to her horse that had trotted away wisely to a safe distance. Eden didn't say a word. The blond staggered along, not asking for help, not making a single sound in pain. Eden rather reluctantly turned back to the peasant travelers. She got back on Arion and galloped over to them. They tried to thank and praise her, but she impatiently rebuffed their advances and told them to get moving before the Turks who had retreated in the meantime came back with a larger party. The peasants nodded and began to scurry about their horses and carts and shouted final thanks and blessings out to Eden as she rode away in a hurry.

She rode up to Arielle who simply sat on her horse, staring out into the distance, making no sign of recognition that she saw anyone approach. Eden saw Arielle lips move lightly as if she was silently talking to herself. The knot that appeared in her eyebrows matched the one growing in her stomach.

"Let's go." Eden simply said and saw Arielle nod faintly.

They made camp in the evening and spent it in silence. Arielle, as usual, fell asleep before Eden did and the warrior took it as a good sign. Yet a nightmare woke the blond up in the middle of the night. Eden shook her awake and when the blond took a few deep breaths, she returned to her bedroll on the other side of the fire. Arielle was quiet for the rest of the night.

Eden silently thanked God that the next day was one free from any unpleasant surprises. But it was also a very quiet day. Arielle said next to nothing, still silently mumbling as if she was trying to convince herself of something. Eden noticed the strange look on her face, the slightly dark rings under her eyes and realized that the only reason the blond had been so quiet that night was because she hadn't slept at all. The warrior began to rack her brains to find a way to help her with something she was evidently struggling with. She didn't talk, didn't want to eat. As Eden went though different things she could do, it suddenly dawned on her that her growing worry over Arielle's state was because she now saw a glimpse of herself in the blond. And then she mentally smacked herself upside the head with a mace. Arielle felt that the whole thing was her fault and Eden had done nothing to show her otherwise. She wanted to take the responsibility for something she didn't do upon herself and deal with a drastic ordeal all by herself. Yes, she should have stayed put like Eden asked her to, but, truthfully, that also was not a guarantee of safety. Eden let out a deep breath. If the situation wasn't so serious, she would have probably laughed. Arielle was trying to be just like Eden when Eden thought that no one in their right mind would want to be like her. _I should have done something when I found her. I should have comforted her then. I'm so..._

The day drifted into the evening and then into night. They made camp and ate in silence and lay down to sleep just like the night before. Arielle tried to keep awake, but her sheer exhaustion took control and covered her in sleep which was quickly interrupted with a strong shaking of her shoulders.

"It's just a bad dream." Arielle heard Eden say to her and she nodded and absently watched Eden return to her bedroll.

The blond lay back down and stared up at the sky, unable to register what she saw there; she was too focused on keeping awake. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the Turk's face, the cold sneer, the blood, smelled the dust, heard his disgusting laughter, watched him die right in front of her eyes. Before she could let her mind spin out of control again, exhaustion came to stubbornly claim her once more. And again her eyes shortly afterwards flew open to the feeling of hands shaking her amidst the echoes of her screams.

She glanced at Eden who was studying her with an intense and worried look. She furrowed her eyebrows and pursed her lips slightly and Arielle was afraid that she was angry or irritated with her behavior.

"I'm, I'm sorry." Arielle whispered in a slightly hoarse voice, ducking away a little.

Eden sighed heavily and returned to her bedroll. She found herself wanting more than anything at that moment for the blond to hysterically throw herself on the ground and cry her eyes out; at least then Eden would know it would be alright in the end. Arielle closed her eyes for a moment and breathed a sigh of relief that she had evaded ending up on the receiving end of Eden's anger and mentally scolded herself for being so troublesome. She rubbed her temples with her shaking fingers, let out a deep breath, and lay back down to stare at the sky absently again. Her head felt something other than the dead tree stump she had been leaning against and she jolted up and turned. Eden was there, looking at her closely, but with a great calm.

"It's alright," she told the blond, in a voice Arielle later would recall was like silk, "go ahead."

Arielle couldn't move and just stared at her. Here was the terror of the Holy Lands offering her her lap as a pillow. Arielle was completely dumbfounded. She had spent weeks prying and poking at the warrior to get her to show a human side Arielle was absolutely convinced she had and now when the rare moment finally came, the blond froze in amazement. And fear. She wanted to be strong, to be brave, she didn't want to be pathetic and weak. If she let the tough and fearless warrior comfort her, what would she be showing her by that?

Eden hung her head for a moment and couldn't help but notice the dire irony of the situation. And then she noticed the potential danger of the solution for her. _Faith_. She shifted up towards the blond and sat down right alongside, slightly in back of her. She then cautiously slid an arm around the blond's waist. She felt her heart quicken and took a slow breath to calm it down. When Eden saw no negative reaction she continued, pulling the blond in a little closer.

"It's alright. Come here." Eden breathed, lowering herself down on the bedrolls that she had pulled together earlier and taking the blond with her.

Eden lay on her back, her arm around the blond who now was on her side with her head on the warrior's shoulder. They lay there for a few moments in completely awkward tension. Something kept trying to continually rebel within Eden, to pull away, to close up, and shut down. The touch of the other woman burned her, both painfully and pleasantly. Somewhere in a deep cavern of her soul, it was something Eden needed and wanted- a speck of humanity, a touch of warmth. But her memories refused to accept it, reciting all the things wrong with it and the potential dangers it brought along with it. She almost wanted to laugh; if wars were fought with touches, she would have been defeated before she could raise a hand. She clenched her teeth a little and forced herself under control. 'This is not about me. This is about her. She needs this. I'm doing this for her.' she repeated to herself in an effort to quell the hateful voices in her head.

"Go to sleep." Eden offered, but she felt no tension escaping the blond, no change in her poise.

"It's alright now, go to sleep." Eden repeated in a soothing voice and ever so slightly stroked the blond's back with her thumb, "I've got you. I'll keep watch."

She heard the blond's breath catch with those words and after a few moments her body began to slowly relax. She noticed Arielle's trembling hand cautiously and somewhat absently venture around her waist. Eden shifted a little. The blond's hand froze on its route, hovering over Eden's waist, not knowing whether to advance or retreat. Without thinking, Eden gave the blond a very gentle squeeze, enough that the arm left its hover and rested finally on her waist. Both women let out a simultaneous, unconscious sigh. Arielle stared at her arm and the place where it found itself and was absolutely amazed. She was so baffled by it all that she moved her fingers faintly, feeling the fabric of the red gambeson and the small rise and fall of Eden's breathing. And then it suddenly hit her, the reality of all that happened and the reality that Eden was there, beside her, comforting her instead of being angry.

The blond's hand suddenly clenched, taking a fistful of Eden's gambeson and trying to draw it near as if she was hanging on for dear life. She buried her head in the warrior's shoulder and began to cry in an overwhelming rush of emotion. It brought relief to the both of them, the tension finally finding an outlet in the blond and Eden was calmer now that Arielle had found her way out of a sad place she had never really belonged. Arielle heaved sob after sob into Eden's shoulder, never loosening her fistful of the warrior as if she was afraid Eden might finally become fed up and just leave. Eden responded by wrapping her other arm around the blond and softly began to rock her. The warrior had grown to despise almost any emotion other than anger since they were just different kinds of weaknesses and weakness gets you killed. But here she found herself deeply touched by the blond and her shameless show of emotion; she saw the trust in it, she saw the courage. She marveled over it. All these years of killing and hating, building up impenetrable walls, keeping everyone fifty arms' lengths away and this young, giddy blond simply walks up to her and lets a tear fall onto the warrior's skin and sends all those years to hell. She thought it bewildering. She also thought it very dangerous. But not tonight.

The sobs faded after a while into quiet sniffles and whimpers. Arielle shifted her head a little and noticed a large wet mark her tears had left on the red gambeson. She raised her hand and absently stroked it. It looked like Eden's heart had bled out onto the surface.

"I'm sorry," Arielle said in a quiet, raspy voice, "I got it all wet."

"It's alright. Just water." Eden shrugged lightly.

Arielle returned her arm to Eden's waist and let out a pained sigh.

"Thank you."

"No problem." Eden decided on saying after biting her tongue on her usual response, "I'm just... I wish I had...It's not your fault. You know that, right?"

"I should have stayed behind like you told me to."

"Maybe." Eden acknowledged, "But he still could have attacked you. Don't know how he got passed me."

"Eden, you were fighting ten men at once. Someone was bound to get passed you."

"I don't know... But you did well."

"How did I do well? He attacked me. He almost..."

"But he didn't."

"That's because you got there in time. If it hadn't been for you..."

Eden squeezed the blond a little. There was no point in arguing the matter, in the end, all that was important was that Arielle wasn't hurt.

"I... I... see him... when I close my eyes. I feel his breath on me... I struggle to reach the sword to... so I can..."

"I killed him." Eden said strongly.

"I know. He was still breathing... still looking at me... I did nothing... I just let him..."

"I killed him, Arielle, not you. There was nothing you could do." Eden repeated, turning her head to look straight at the blond. "I took his life, no one else."

Arielle nodded and Eden turned her eyes back up at the stars. She wanted to find the Turk and kill him again for what he was putting Arielle through. These were the small trials, the tests of faith for Eden. She would see such a grave injustice done, no matter how small, and have to use all of her strength and will to not go on a rampage against God. What some considered a gift given to her, she mostly saw as a curse thrown upon her. She knew the one weakness in God's total power- the free will of man. And she had seen what man could do over and over again. She would have nothing against the cruel and the evil hacking each other to pieces in senseless wars until only the peace and simplicity of nature was left. Yet, when the dark side of human nature effected the innocent, those like Arielle, Eden just couldn't stand it.

"I saw you hit that Turk charging me." Eden offered, trying to show Arielle something she didn't see or think that Eden saw, "It... I... You did really well today."

Arielle felt a faint smile slide across her lips and felt a tension deeper inside her begin to slowly release.

"What happened to the travelers?"

"Oh, I told them to hurry and move along before the Turks came back."

"They'll come back?" Arielle asked in sudden worry.

"Ssh, no. I told them that so that they would move quicker. The road here is pretty dangerous. If they had just stayed there, then they would have been easy prey for thieves or whoever else. They had to keep moving."

"Eden?" the bard asked after a while.

"Yes?"

"I'm glad we helped them. I'm glad you helped them." Arielle admitted quietly.

Eden said nothing, but realized that for the first time in a long time, she hadn't fought for herself or out of anger. She had tried not kill anyone, though she felt no remorse for the dead Turk who attacked Arielle. In her mind, the blood that had stained her blade again was justified.

Eden shifted to unwrap her one arm from around Arielle and the moment she moved, Arielle's hand clenched and grabbed a fistful of Eden's gambeson again and she let out the very faintest of whimpers in which Eden could have sworn she heard 'no'.

"It's okay. It's alright." Eden consoled, returning her arm around the younger woman and feeling her noticeably relax, "Go to sleep now. I'll be here."

"You'll stand guard, won't you?" Arielle murmured, her eyes finally growing heavy, her voice growing quiet, "You'll watch me like a... like a hawk..."

"I'll watch you like a hawk." Eden replied after a moment, surprised but pleased with the comparison.

Arielle didn't hear her reply, but it didn't matter, it was something she already knew. She had no nightmares that night.


	11. Chapter 11

"You know, I think this is probably the most pleasant leg of our journey yet?" Arielle reflected.

"Just might be." the warrior answered with a light nod.

The road led them across flat land, close to the sea and in a place where the road banked gently to a wide seashore, Eden veered off onto the rather coarse, dark brown sand and Arielle followed her. They rode alongside each other at the edge of where the sea met the sand, the horses kicking up a gentle spray that cooled off their now shimmering legs.

"You probably like the sea, don't you?" Arielle asked, shifting in her saddle a little, "Since you spent all that time observing the ships at port in Venetia, hm?"

"I feel fine out at sea." Eden answered with a shrug.

"I'm not that fond of the sea at all. For some reason I get seasick every time. I just need to walk the length of the ship and I end up hanging off the starboard side, nearly green as a turtle for the rest of the voyage. No, I'm definitely a dry land kind of lady."

"You're lucky I'm not a pirate then." the warrior replied with a tiny grin in the corner of her mouth.

"I could really imagine you as one though. Your black hair tossed by the wind, a cutlass at your hip... Eden, Scourge of the Mediterranean." Arielle announced, sweeping her hand out in front of her, "Has a certain ring to it, don't you think?"

The warrior only raised an eyebrow in response, but the grin didn't leave her.

"Well," Eden said after a few moments, "I'm not that fond of the water. All the numbers and charts in merchant trading simply bored me. So I'd go down to the port and watch the ships sailing in and out, wondering what strange lands they came from or were going to. Or I'd eavesdrop in on mariner's tales. It was much more interesting."

"I can imagine that your father wasn't very pleased with that." Arielle added in a knowing tone and watched the warrior's face suddenly darken.

"No." she answered, trying to keep her voice even, "He would find me, practically drag me back by my hair, always saying something about how no good was to come of me. We went back home after a short time."

"I'm sure my parents were positively thrilled with the fact that I get seasick." the bard mentioned, trying to lighten the mood, "They would likely both get the fits if they thought for a moment that I might want to start sailing around the earth."

Both women abruptly turned their attention to their horses who had begun to nudge each other back and forth.

"What do you think they're doing?" the bard asked with amusement, "It almost seems like they want to play."

"I don't know..." Eden mused.

Arion's behavior was a little strange to her. As far as animals were concerned, she could probably safely swear that there was no other as similar to her as he was. He was neither playful nor trusting so this sudden lighthearted behavior on his part was a little curious. She tried to carefully yank Arion away from Xanthus, but he would only snort impatiently and go right back to nudging the chestnut stallion.

"Maybe... Maybe they'd... Perhaps we could... race?" Arielle offered with some uncertainty.

"Race?" Eden repeated as if she had never heard of the concept before, "Hmm..."

"Come on, Eden, it will be fun!" the bard encouraged.

"Fun?" Eden repeated still with the same tone and now blinking at the bard.

"Um... it will be refreshing, a bit of exercise for all of us, and a quite welcome change of pace."

"Ah, well... I guess there's no harm in it." the warrior finally decided.

"But just one condition- you don't get to do that flying thing." the bard added playfully and saw the warrior raise an eyebrow, "Please, the chivalrous thing to do would be to at least give the poor, fair, young maiden a chance, wouldn't you agree warrior?"

Eden saw the mischievous twinkle in the bard's eye and the playful grin and realized that, quite simply, she couldn't say no.

"All right." she drawled, giving a bit of a mischievous grin herself.

"Good. We'll race to that large point over there. Is that sea wood? Looks like sea wood to me. I can't really see from this far." the bard chattered until she heard Eden clearing her throat suggestively, "Right, so we race to that... point. The winner... cooks dinner."

"Agreed."

"I say... go!" the bard shouted happily and took off in a frenzied gallop while Eden shook her head with some amusement.

"Well, you started this." she sighed to Arion matter-of-factly, "So, yah."

Arion shot forward like out of a catapult. Never one to turn down a challenge, just like his rider, he soon caught up with the bard and teased them by riding neck and neck with Xanthus, yet showing relatively little strain or effort. Arion then rode around the back of the bard to the other side and showed that he could do the same thing riding through the surf, happily splashing everything around him. Near the finish point, the black horse casually sped up and crossed it first, winning the race. Eden spun around to see the heavily breathing chestnut pair pass the finish point and the bard reined Xanthus in as she approached Eden.

"I swear I said nothing else than 'yah'... once." Eden stated, raising her hands up slightly in innocence.

"Alright, alright," Arielle replied, raising her own hands in surrender, taking deep breaths, "A smart woman knows when she's outmatched at the very beginning. But you have to tell me what you feed that horse of yours. Minced wind? Essence of rabbit? Freshly picked lightning, perhaps?"

They gazed at each other for a few moments, their eyes playfully twinkling, both of them noticing the light smile on the warrior's face responding to the bard's big grin.

"Come on," Eden said, turning back down the shore, "Let's eat."

"That's a challenge I'm always up for!" the bard admitted happily.

They decided to catch some fish and Eden took out a line and hook from her saddlebag. They walked over to a large rock that jutted out into and over the water and Eden handed the line to Arielle and waited. The bard looked a little anxiously at the warrior, but put on a determined face and began to swing the hook overhead, finally throwing it out to sea with such force that she nearly fell in with it, Eden's quick grasp the only thing saving her from an unexpected swim. The bard grinned sheepishly at the staring warrior and then put her hands on her hips.

"This would probably go a little better if I could just shoot the fish with an arrow, you know." Arielle noted.

"Where did you learn archery?" Eden asked, taking the line from the blond.

"Remember when I told you about the hunting trips my father would sometimes take me on if I complained enough?" she began, seeing a nod from Eden, "Well, I would often watch them shooting since I didn't have much else to do. I don't know what it was, maybe the way the arrow sails through the air, maybe how the bowstring sings, the power and quiet of it all; it simply fascinated me... Well, during one trip, I simply hopped off my horse and picked up a bow someone had left against a tree, took an arrow, and let it fly. The hunting party saw that, asked me to do it a couple of more times, the arrows all landing in a cluster. The party clapped and cheered and I probably turned thirty different shades of red. My father's good friend, Sir Edwin, one of those respectable knight types, told him that he was so amazed that he offered to teach me archery himself. Thankfully, my father was surrounded by people he wanted to keep in good standing with, so he couldn't simply ignore them or shout at me so he agreed. And that's how I learned..."

"Well," the warrior drawled, getting ready to cast the fishing line, "I guess your father should be proud."

"Ha!" Arielle replied with a cheerful snort, "If I know my father, he probably thinks I staged the whole thing."

Eden caught a fish in one try which got a playful huff from the bard. When the warrior placed the fish on the sand, the bard looked up at her with an innocent grin so Eden crouched down with a sigh and showed her how to gut and fry a fish over an open fire. They ate, adding some bread to the rather small fish, watching the sun begin its descent from its crest in the sky, as content and at ease with their company as they had ever been.

They remounted and trotted further down to the end of the shore and then back onto the road. They talked some more about different, small things, like fishing, the color of the sand, the distance left to Jerusalem, both pleased with the day.

Yet with the fading light, the bard watched something begin to change in Eden's demeanor, casting a shadow over her face. Almost like the day that slipped into the black shroud of the night, so did Eden, her troubles and scars awakening and creeping up to the surface like nocturnal creatures. To Eden, the night brought a certain bizarre kind of relief, she could melt into the darkness and become one with it and... hide. The hope that the day carried within her would finally collapse exhausted in her mind and let her doubt and despair stretch their limbs, trudging back and forth along Eden's already trampled heart. The warrior's hope was in dire straits. It was the weakest kind, the hope that appeared by its own sheer nature. There seemed to be a reason, Eden mused, why it was said that hope dies last. Yet, the warrior was too weak to fight for it and nurture it. She awoke not in the hope of a new day, but simply because she woke up and had no other choice but to rise and survive until she lay back down again to dream empty, black dreams. She often thought that she would have nothing against not awakening one fine day. No, the night was more her friend and she would sit in silence, surrounded by the dark and quiet, watching her misgivings and hurt creep over the remains of her soul with tiny, raspy taunts.

The change the bard saw saddened her. Each flicker of warmth from the warrior seemed to disappear as quickly as it emerged, leaving the bard to wonder if she had even really seen it at all. Ever since the night she had slept in Eden's arms, Arielle kept searching for telltale signs that the warrior was changing her attitude towards her, no longer seeing her simply as an annoying tag along and showing the heart she kept locked away under all that armor. But her own heart sunk a little when she noticed that the days and nights after that one just returned back to the usual; the bedrolls separated by the fire burning in between, the gruff, short responses to the blond's monologues, the long stretches of silence. Arielle didn't want to admit it, but she found herself missing that closeness a little. There was something bewitching in the warrior's presence, in the way that Eden held herself like a deeply hidden secret left in plain view. And she discovered a safe haven in Eden's arms that housed such a gentle strength; when wrapped in them Arielle felt that she was protected from everything the world might throw at her. It fascinated her to no end. The same arms that could have easily snapped bones and ripped away limbs were careful in their treatment of her as if she was made of holy glass and locked her not in a cage, but enveloped her in a protective armor. Arielle didn't know what exactly Eden kept hiding and why she was so intent on keeping it hidden. It was almost as if she was scared. But how could the dark menace of the Holy Lands be scared of anything?

That night also wasn't far from Eden's mind, there was something that had been gnawing away at Eden persistently since then. That touch. No one would ever believe her if she had talked about it, no one could ever understand. Even if a person was nearly completely lost, there was always a relentless, if faint urge for the closeness of another human being; a smile, a touch, a laugh. And Eden had believed that she had already won that war and sent that human urge deep beneath the sands until the night she comforted Arielle. It had awakened something within her long asleep, her walls shook, her heart rattled its cage, her arms ached dully. Her skin hadn't stopped burning, remaining a constant reminder now of a path she swore she would never go back down, but now somehow found herself turning towards. It was too dangerous, too risky, potentially... deadly. So the little, dark voices in her head had a festival with her and her weaknesses; ranting and raving in her head over how pathetic, worthless, and soft she really was. Something was gnawing away at that little ray of warmth she had experienced, trying to swallow it and plunge her self back into the chilly darkness where she belonged. But the stubborn, little ray wouldn't take darkness for an answer.

They arrived in Tripoli when the sun had already hidden from view and the dark was almost enough to force them to stop for the day. They were looking forward to eating a solid, hot meal and sleeping somewhere else than on the ground. They found a room in the first inn they decided to enter and went upstairs to leave their things in it before finding a tavern. Eden gladly took off her armor right down to her gambeson and Arielle did likewise. Eden noticed the bard unfastening her short sword, leaving her dagger as her only weapon. The warrior moved to protest, but on second thought said nothing. She knew that the bard was no warrior, no killer. She could tell by her stance and she knew it the day Arielle let her arrows fly into the Turks, making sure they hindered, but didn't kill. Arielle smiled at her warmly, catching her looking at her and Eden gave a ghost of a smile in response, deciding then and there that she probably wouldn't have wanted the bard to be in any way more similar to her.

They walked downstairs and went back to a tavern that they had passed on the way. They stood in its entrance, giving it a cool scan. It was pretty full, but not packed, stirring up a racket of voices, dishes, and movements and a fog of blending smells. There seemed to be almost every kind of person inside, from milkmaids to warriors, with a few misplaced gentry crammed into a far off corner, shooting off disapproving glances into the middle of the tavern every now and then.

"Could you... Would you do something... for me?" Eden asked a little warily, leaning a little closer to Arielle so she could hear over the tavern noise.

"Of course. What is it?"

"Could you, um... just... I... I wouldn't want to get... drunk, alright?" Eden finally stuttered out with a little embarrassment, "It gets... rather... ugly."

"Alright..." Arielle answered, her brows creasing a little.

She could somehow feel that the warrior was uneasy, but she thought it would be better not to ask.

They found a spot at a relatively empty table and sat down across from each other. They ordered food and drink, yet the bard noticed that Eden hardly touched her dinner and instead preferred the ale. The tavern keeper was a burly man with what Arielle thought might be the widest shoulders she had ever seen. The tavern maids scurried about with their orders, weaving in and out of tables and people. A bard was trying to tell a story near the fireplace to what looked like a group of only irritated people.

Eden was on her second ale when she suggested that Arielle go tell some stories since the performing bard was now having rotten vegetables heaved at him from every side by the annoyed crowd.

"Go on now, have some fun." she said loosely, feeling the ale begin its pleasant unravelling of her tension.

"Well... I could, but... I think I should... Are you sure? Are you going to be okay?"

"I'm fine. Go on. Be a bard." Eden said, shooing the blond away with her hand.

Arielle looked at her warily, feeling somewhere in her gut that something wasn't completely right. But she decided to ignore the feeling, thinking that it would do no harm and that they would be within sight of each other. She got up slowly and saved the terrible bard by digging him out from under the growing pile of vegetables and taking his place.

"Now friends, from far and wide, young and old, ladies and...gentleman." Arielle started and received a low chuckle from the men gathering around, "Let me tell you the tale of a fierce warrior, a mirage of the sands..."

Arielle told one story and then another and another, losing herself in them, the crowd of attentive listeners growing. She had turned down so many offers of ale that they began to bring her cider, mead, fruits, and anything else they could think of, encouraging her to moisten her tongue and lips and continue. The bard had loosened up pleasantly under all the drink and interested gazes of the doting crowd.

Eden was drinking her fifth ale, noticing it was much stronger than it seemed and knowing that she should stop, but she had passed the point where she was sober enough to care. A group of men was loudly exchanging war stories, evidently under the influence of generous rivers of ale and beer. They roared in laughter when their last story was finished.

"Bet you haven't heard a tale like that, have you miss?" the man sitting closest to her asked, nudging her with his elbow all of the sudden.

"No, can't say that I have." she replied coolly, raising an eyebrow.

"It just knocks you off your seat, doesn't it?" the man asked excitedly.

"Well, no, not particularly." she answered with a shrug.

"Ha! Did you hear that boys? The lass here says that story was a bit dull!"

The men took a look at Eden and roared in laughter. Eden didn't lose her cool demeanor.

"Alright, alright. Amuse me fair one. What was wrong with my tale, eh?" the man asked with a drunken grin, turning back to Eden.

"Well," she drawled, getting dangerously brazen, "it's just not the most exciting thing I've ever heard. Or interesting. Or clever. Should I go on?"

"Oh, wasn't it then, fine thing?" he replied, his voice teetering on the edge of a growl, "And you have the most daring tale up your little sleeve I'll bet."

"Actually, I do," she replied, mimicking his tone.

"Well out with it then, maiden." he said, leaning back at little and folding his arms.

Eden told them some raiding story. It was full of galloping raiders, burning buildings, terrified women and children, cut down villagers, plundered homes, devastated lives, rich spoils, ravaged lands; generally all the things that any raider usually ever talked about. They listened to her attentively. It wasn't the storytelling that held their interest. It was the fire, blood, and terror that they wanted, that ran through their veins and made their hearts pump faster. Those same things coursed through Eden's veins now, but she noticed that they instead began to make her stomach churn and she tasted bile in her mouth.

"Ah... Well, I have to say lass, the tale was a good one." the man admitted when Eden finished, his comrades all nodding in agreement and raising their cups, "Sounds like the handiwork of Karas. You told it well."

"I'll let him take the credit for all the terror and havoc." Eden almost spat out, starting another ale, the band laughing.

"Come to think of it, haven't seen him around for a while now." he admitted.

"Hard to be out and about when you're pushing up the flowers."

"So the stories are true, are they? You saw his grave then?"

"No, I put him there." Eden stated simply, no longer caring how reckless she was being.

The grin disappeared from the man's face and he finally took a more serious look at Eden.

"Aye, they did speak of some kind of a fair demon who cut him down in laughter. You know maiden, I knew him well."

Her blue eyes flashed in a whisper of potential menace and he knew that she was telling the truth. A uncomfortable silence fell upon all of them and she could barely hear one of the band nervously reaching for the hilt of his sword. The man took a breath and leaned in a little towards Eden.

"He always was a damned bastard, wasn't he?" he stated with a reappearing grin.

A roar of laughter scared away the tension and the man clapped Eden on the back.

"Aye, a fair deed you did for us, sending that carrion to the worms. I'm Jarin and that lot are my band. And what do they call you, lovely?"

"The fair demon." Eden replied flippantly.

"Oh!" Jarin cried out and slapped his hands against his lap, "Aren't you a feisty one! But alright, maiden, no harm. But you won't let me let your cup run dry, now will you?" he suggested, his drunken grin growing wider as he slowly shifted closer to Eden.

Eden knew she was in exactly the kind of trouble she didn't really want to find herself in. She knew that all of the things she was thinking right then weren't supposed to appear in her head. But it was that gnawing; she wanted it to finally stop. She wanted to drop into the darkness, let herself submerge in its black pitch where it was quiet, calm, and familiar. She gave in to the darkest part of herself; she wanted to self-destruct.

"And they say chivalry is dead." she replied, a devilish grin spreading across her lips.

"Oh!" the whole band roared and toasted her as Jarin called for more ale.

They drank, told stories, and competed amongst each other in terms of better tales, longer or deeper scars, richer spoils, and greater strength. Jarin shifted ever closer to Eden until he was practically draped over her, his arm over her shoulders, his lips whispering barely coherent things in her ear. Eden felt disgusted with herself and relished in the feeling. This was all she would get in life, her darkness told her. This was all she deserved.

That thought was disrupted when the bard suddenly appeared at the table.

"Oh now, where does such fine beauty come from? Is it something in the water here?" Jarin noticed, jostling Eden around a little as he bellowed in laughter with his friends.

Eden looked up drunkenly at Arielle who was peering down at her strangely. Eden was about to let herself be crucified by an emerald gaze of contempt and judgement, but she couldn't find it. Even in her near drunken stupor she saw no contempt, no guilt, no judgment. She tired harder, with all her might, and still there was nothing harsh there. The emeralds looked at her with compassion, question, and hurt and it sent Eden's mind spinning in the opposite direction that the ale had it going and it began to make her sick.

"She's been traveling with me." Eden blurted out.

"Aye, has she now?" Jarin replied, "I wouldn't mind that myself!"

Again the laughter, the ale spilling from cups and mouths, the awful squeeze of Jarin's hand on her waist and a sick kiss on her cheek. She hadn't taken her eyes off of Arielle and now there was something new appearing in that forest green and Eden hoped it was disgust. But the new thing spilled out of her eyes and swept over her whole face and Eden recognized it. It was self-reproach that the bard hadn't been there and let Eden slip.

"She's my friend." Eden mumbled out absently.

"Is she now? Well sit down, little lass. Any friend of this dark dame is a friend of ours. We all know what a rare commodity friends are!" Jarin bellowed, taking a huge gulp of ale.

Arielle looked around the table in silence and slowly sat down, not knowing what else to do. The men slid closer to her, offering her ale which she politely declined, all the while trying to ignore their drunken stares and licking of lips.

"So fair maiden, you're a story teller, are you?" Jarin slurred, turning to Arielle who was seated beside him, "Are you known for good bedtime stories as well?"

Eden watched as the bellowing laughter and growing stench and closeness made the bard very uncomfortable. She cringed under the noise and innuendo, but said nothing.

"What is it, little bard? Has your tongue gone stiff? Let me help you with that, lovely." he said and threw his arm around her and tried to give her a drunken kiss.

Arielle yelped and shot up out of her seat and away from Jarin. The whole table roared, except for Eden who was still watching her closely as if she couldn't believe that the bard was really there.

"I'm going back to the inn." Arielle stated firmly and began to walk out of the tavern, passing Eden.

"Wait a minute," Eden mumbled, awkwardly getting up, "I'll walk you."

"Hey now," Jarin protested, stumbling up as he watched his two prizes walking away, "what's the rush? The night is young, the ale is good, the company fine!"

"No, thank you." Arielle said sternly.

"Okay then, lass. I can see you'd like a little quiet." he said, stumbling towards her, "How's about a real brave man walk you home and give you quite a story to tell later, hm?" he suggested and grabbed the blond's rear and pulled her towards him.

Jarin didn't even have time to blink when the blond was torn from his grasp and his gaze was lifted by the cold point of a dagger under his chin to meet a frigid pair of blue eyes, flashing angrily in instant sobriety.

"Tell me, Jarin, are you suicidal?" Eden asked in a tone so low it practically slithered across the floor.

"N-n-n no." he stuttered, shaking his head, "Twas only fun, lass. No real harm meant."

"Go back to your troupe. And if I catch you even looking in her direction, I'll turn you into a story with lots of twists and turns, understand?"

Jarin nodded and Eden let the dagger down enough that he could move away and stumble back to his bench. The bard saw the stares from the men turning to Eden and the itchy fingers dancing around their swords.

"Let's go." Arielle told Eden in a tone that the warrior couldn't decipher.

They both turned around and left and only when they walked out of the tavern, into the cool, evening air did Eden's drunkness hit her again and she stumbled, nearly falling over. Arielle was there and caught her at the last moment by the front of her gambeson. They stood face to face, the blond holding the warrior in two fists and resisting the urge to shake her out of her senses.

"What are you doing?" Arielle asked still in that strange tone.

"I don't know. Talking, drinking. Arm wrestled with five guys. Won every time." Eden replied with a drunken grin.

"No, I'm asking you what are you doing? What is this, Eden?"

"I'm trying to unwind, alright? Can't a woman have some fun?"

"Fun? This is fun for you? Getting so drunk you can't walk straight? Almost getting into fights? That doesn't sound very fun, more like dangerous."

"And so what if it is?" Eden yelled, tearing herself from Arielle's grasp, "What difference does it make to anyone anyway, huh?"

And then Eden saw the disappointment in Arielle's eyes, both in herself and in the warrior and Eden thought she was going to drown in it.

"Look around you! I'm not superhuman. I'm no god or angel. This is my world! This is what I get! This is what I deserve! That's all!" Eden yelled and then grabbed Arielle by the jaw and glared straight into her face and the bard was almost overwhelmed by her fear and the stench of ale, "Look at me! This is all that I am!"

"No!" Arielle shouted and pushed the stunned warrior away, watching her stumble back a couple of steps.

The push had jarred something deep in Eden. For her the feeling of being pushed away was all too familiar. It didn't really matter at the moment that she had deserved it; the ale had loosened all of her meticulously placed constraints and she felt her bones and muscles tremble as the flood of everything she always kept locked away began to wash over her.

"Everything else has been taken away." Eden finally shouted in an angry sadness, throwing her arms around wildly, rocking on her feet, "I have no family. I have no friends. The only thing I'm good at is destroying everything I touch."

"That's not true..." the bard tried to argue.

"True?! What do you know about the truth? What the hell do you even know about me, hm? You come prancing in all happy and carefree like this is some adventure from a children's tale. What do you know about anything?! I could just slit your throat right now for all you know, couldn't I?" Eden shouted and drew her dagger.

Arielle raised in arms out in front of her, now realizing what the warrior had meant by saying "ugly"; she was potentially very dangerous. The bard fought back the strong urge to run away and tried to control her breathing. She kept her gaze on Eden and put all of her suddenly wavering faith in the hope that Eden wasn't drunk enough to forget who the bard was.

"Eden... calm down, alright?... Put the dagger away..." Arielle tried to calm, her voice shaking.

"Oh, no! Insane desert bandit has gone out of control! Everyone run for your lives!" Eden taunted and then lowered her voice, "There is a difference! You know what the difference is here? Between me and that horse manure inside? I would never hurt you. No... I'd hurt myself first... That's the difference, see?"

Eden flipped the dagger neatly in her hand and placed it up against the side of her own neck, her face with an expression of deadly intent.

"Eden, stop it... That's enough now..."

"Enough of what? We all pay sooner or later, duchess. Why not sooner? Come on, princess. Tell me how wicked I am. How pathetic and ruined. That even God Himself will sigh in relief over my corpse. That it's all too late. Tell me, tell me how damned I am beyond salvation!"

"Eden, stop it, please. You're scaring me."

"Scaring you? I'm scaring you?" the warrior repeated, lowering the dagger and her tone, "Did it ever cross your mind that maybe I'm scared?"

Arielle blinked at her a couple of times.

"For the love of God Almighty, do you have any idea what it's like when I'm scared?!" Eden began to yell, her hands balling up into fists, "Or sad or alone or exhausted?! No, you don't. No one does. I am a warrior with no heart and soul in the end, right? But I'm not, damn it! I'm a person just like any other! If you cut me, I bleed, if you run me through, I die... And I used to laugh, princess, you know? I used to laugh, I used to care, I used to see a future. And now?!" her voice began to break and tremble, her anger quickly spent, "Now... I can't remember when I last laughed... I didn't want to be this, I really didn't... I just didn't know... It was just too much... all of it... over and over... just so much... it wouldn't stop, it just wouldn't... stop... And now... I'm a monster..."

Eden glanced at Arielle, seeing the fear in her face. She glanced down at the dagger in her hand and looked at it as if she had just noticed it and had no idea how it got there. She frowned at it and sheathed it, dropping her hands to her sides in defeat.

"So that's the story, young bard," she said quietly, her whole body trembling just as much as her voice, "of a dragon born only to whither away forgotten, washed up under a bridge."

Arielle took a few steps forward, slowly lowering her hands. Eden looked at her with a quizzical interest.

"Come on, Eden," the bard said quietly.

"I'm tired, you know? I'm just so very, very tired..." the warrior admitted, her shoulders slumped in defeat.

"I know, I know... Come on, let's go home."

"Home?" Eden repeated in surprise, "I have no home."

"You have a home for today." the bard answered gently, "We'll worry about tomorrow in a day, hm?"

Eden thought about it for a few seconds, feeling the cool evening air starting to soothe her racing mind and heart.

"That sounds like a plan." she stated, her tone turning a few shades warmer.

"Alright, let's go then." Arielle said with a small grin of relief and reached out for the warrior's arm.

"No!" the warrior announced, moving her arm away from Arielle's hand, making her jump slightly.

Eden raised her hands to show she meant no harm and took a deep breath.

"Arielle," she said decidedly and calmly, "whether we part ways tomorrow, the day after, or in a hundred years, you will never carry me in dishonor or embarrassment."

Arielle looked up at her in understanding and with a small feeling of... pride.

"Sounds like a plan." she repeated, the smile on her face widening.

They walked back to the inn quietly. Though Eden was now walking rather normally, Arielle observed her out of the corner of her eye just in case. When they were finally back in their room, Eden ungracefully flopped down on the bed, wanting to simply curl up and die. After a while, she heard Arielle set some tea on the little table beside her bed.

"Why?" Eden asked, thinking the question so hard that it found its way to the surface out loud. _Why don't you hate me?_

Arielle looked at her closely and thought for a minute.

"Because you're my friend," she replied carefully, "and this is not all you are."

"I'm revolting..."

"No!" Arielle said sternly and crouched beside the bed and looked at Eden, resisting an urge to stroke her face, "You're brave, gentle, and protective, you just choose not show it. My God, Eden, you would have sliced a man open in defense of me! How many people, how many friends would do something like that?"

Eden let the thought seep into her brain whose defenses were weaker than usual thanks to the ale. She wasn't sure those words were true and even if they were, she didn't know what she was supposed to do with that truth. Or was there anything that could be done? Yet her mind was in too much of a whirl to debate and analyze the point now.

"Yeah, but I guess I might have overreacted some, huh?" Eden asked with a tiny grin.

"Maybe. Just some." Arielle echoed with a slightly larger grin.

"A little."

"Minutely."

They both smiled lightly. Eden lumbered around, taking off her gambeson, belt, and boots and Arielle did the same and slid into her bed. They lie there for a while, on their sides, looking at each other quietly. Eden lay in hushed captivation for a while, Arielle's emerald eyes sparkling in the dim torch light lazily seeping through the window. They shined like a promising beacon in the blackness, calling Eden forward, away from the shadows that were pulling at her. The gloom was familiar, it was already hers, yet this prominent little light continued to fiercely glow, adamantly beckoning the warrior out of that detached gloom, waking her heart and soul from her eternal midnight, calling her name with such an incredibly loud silence. So she decided then and there to forgo the starless and sunless twilight for something that reminded her of the frail power of a candle flickering on a holy altar. _Those eyes..._

"Arielle?" the warrior mumbled across the space between them, her eyes half closed already.

"Hm?"

"Never again... I... I promise you..."

Arielle smiled warmly and watched the warrior's eyes finally close and her breathing slow in slumber. The bard then rolled over onto her back and stared at the ceiling. She was never as aware as she was now of the potential danger that the warrior posed towards her person. Eden was filled with so much sadness and anger that she couldn't even start to wrap her mind around it. And what was worst of all, Eden seemed to carry within herself a nearly boundless hate... towards herself. Her brows knotted at the thought; the bard couldn't make sense of it. How could she feel so safe and protected in the arms of someone so violent and troubled? Yet a stubborn reoccurring notion swept over her that she had something she could give Eden, maybe a crumb of the things the warrior hoped for and needed so that at least a fraction of her soul could find some peace. Yet, Eden seemed scared of the very things she so desperately needed. And Arielle's mind then tripped on a thought. Even death is nothing to someone who doesn't have anything to lose. Perhaps losing something is exactly what Eden feared. Arielle closed her eyes and was slowly lulled to sleep by a soft, little hum of the part of her that had begun to reach out to Eden since the day she had fallen asleep in her arms.

* * *

A figure approached Eden from the quiet gray. Long, raven hair. A strong, powerful frame. Piercing, blue eyes. A sword, armor, and dark, green wings. Eden said nothing until the winged woman stood right across from her.

"Don't ever do that again. Especially around Arielle." she said, her voice taking on a low and rumbling register like a distant thunderstorm.

"Who are you?" Eden asked in a quiet wonder after a moment because she had never seen anyone like her before.

"Don't ever do that again." the woman repeated, taking a step forward.

"I won't." Eden answered, not even having to think about it.

"Good." the woman said, turned around, and left.

* * *

The next morning, Eden seemed a bit more busy than usual and used every excuse she could think of so she wouldn't have to face the bard. She packed quickly and then went down with the saddlebags to the waiting Arion.

"If you had only seen me yesterday..." Eden said to him as she started brushing him and he whinnied and snorted, "Okay, so I wish you hadn't seen me yesterday..."

She could have kicked herself to Constantinople for the way she had acted the evening before. She had made a fool out of herself, put Arielle in danger and as well as herself. And, interestingly enough, she was enough irritated with the fact that she hadn't heard a single one of Arielle's stories; she was too busy feeling sorry for herself. Eden huffed loudly at herself. She put the brush away and walked over to Arielle who had just come down from the inn and was adjusting her saddlebag on her horse. The bard turned to look at the warrior who was standing in front of her as if she was awaiting an execution.

"I... I'm an ass." Eden said bluntly.

Arielle looked at the warrior, standing there very unsure of herself, her hands fidgeting around her belt. She knew what she meant and it tickled a place in her heart because she knew it was difficult for the warrior to say and she had, of course, found a very interesting way of saying it. She smiled.

"Good, that's settled then." Eden said, clearing her throat and spun on her heel and walked back to her task.

When Eden was out of sight, Arielle raised a hand to her mouth and stifled a giggle, shaking her head in amusement. _Sometimes she is so... adorable._


	12. Chapter 12

After leaving Tripoli, Eden set a rather leisurely pace. They continued to travel close to the coastline with rather small, rocky and wooded mountains to their left, rivers occasionally running through them.

"The terrain here sure changes a lot," Arielle mentioned, "if it's not hard packed earth, then it's dry grasses, sandy beaches, stony hills, now wooded mountains..."

"Are you complaining, duchess?" Eden asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No... I'm just making an observation. I was just somehow expecting lots and lots of... sand... in the desert."

"Well, I'm sure the Levant begs your forgiveness." Eden said in jest.

"Do you like it here, Eden?"

"Truthfully, I'm more of a woods kind of lady. I'd take the forest over oceans of sand any day."

"Ah, yes. The birds singing, the trickle of water, the sunlight filtering through the trees. Yes..." Arielle mused.

"Yeah, something like that." Eden added with a slight roll of the eyes.

"You forget that I'm a bard, warrior." Arielle pointed out cheerfully.

"Oh, that I could never forget."

"I can just imagine our two versions of the forest." Arielle said, a smile crossing her face with the images in her head, "I'm thinking of babbling brooks and trees swaying in the wind, dark green grass or moss cushioning my feet, and that light, sweet smell of blooming flowers while you're probably imagining chasing down some terrified rabbit with your sword swinging overhead... Eden?"

Eden had frozen still, staring out in front of her. Arielle stopped beside her and turned her gaze in the direction of the warrior's. A sleek, black, hooded figure had seemed to rise out of the middle of the path and now rode towards them leisurely. Arielle wondered over the familiar blackness of the figure. As he approached, Eden felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end and a strange tense, tingling sensation spread over her right arm. She flexed her right hand in slight confusion, but the sensation wouldn't go away.

"Who is that?" Arielle asked Eden quietly, feeling a sense of foreboding deep in her gut.

"I don't know." Eden answered in the same tone, which only made Arielle more fearful.

Eden then noticed that darkness and shadows clung to the rider in a way they shouldn't have in the bright day. She turned slightly to Arielle.

"Listen to me," she said in deadly seriousness, feeling the charge start to make her heart beat more powerfully, "I don't like this. Stay close behind me. And stay quiet. If anything starts to happen, ride up into those mountains as fast as you can. Run away and don't look back. Understand?"

"But, Eden, I-"

"Do you understand?" Eden repeated in a tone that showed that it was not up for discussion.

Arielle swallowed and simply nodded. Eden nudged her horse forward a little which left Arielle partially shielded behind her when the figure approached.

* "Assalamu 'alaikum." the rider called, raising his right hand.

"Dominus tecum." Eden returned, mimicking the action.

"Ah, a Christian..." the rider noted, his voice slithering out and causing a chill to go down Arielle's spine.

The rider removed his hood. Arielle gasped quietly, seeing a man whose black hair and black eyes stood in stark contrast to the white teeth he bared in a demonic grin that spread across his face. Eden tensed as the midnight eyes bore into her own as if he was trying to run her through with them.

"You are far from home, Christian." he noted.

"Just on the way to the Holy City." Eden answered calmly.

"Ah, yes, you are of the pious sort, no doubt." the man sneered.

Eden said nothing, her gaze never leaving the man as his never left her. Her heartbeat grew stronger with his every word, the tingling in her arm never leaving, the bizarre calm tension mounting in her muscles.

"You shouldn't be here." he finally stated, his irritation growing.

"Neither should you." Eden chanced, switching slowly to her complete warrior stance as she realized both who she was dealing with and how much she would have wanted to avoid it at the moment.

"Ha! You are arrogant, Christian! These are my lands." he cried, sweeping the area around him with a black gloved hand, "They belong to my god. You are the trespasser."

"Your god and mine are the same. So neither of us trespass."

"La ilaha illa Allah!"

"There is no god, but the one true God. Of all things. By any and all of His names."

"How dare you presume to speak for Allah, daughter of Christ?!" he howled, causing Arielle to flinch back.

"I presume to speak no more for God than you, son of Muhammad." Eden fiercely retorted.

The irritated man spun his restless, midnight horse around in a circle. He studied the warrior confidently, calmly seeking out and choosing which weakness to aim at so as to evoke the most damage. He began to stare her down again.

"You recognize this color, don't you, blasphemous Christian?" he asked coolly, his feral grin returning.

Eden began to feel the weight of his gaze and him trying to enter her mind, probing through her thoughts and memories. Her grip on the reins tightened and Arielle noticed it.

"Ah, yes... The color represents something you know well. Something deep in your heart, in the center of your spirit..." he hissed.

Eden began to tremble, the rider digging further and further into her mind. He brought back things long buried and the images flashed in her mind as if they were happening right there in front of her.

"Yes... you know what I speak of. And you craved it, didn't you? The smell of blood and smoke, the clash of metal, the sound of chaos..."

Arielle watched with growing horror as Eden's body grew rigid, her shaking hands holding the reins so tightly that her knuckles were a ghostly white. The warrior trembled, her gaze locked onto the man who was piercing her with his coal eyes, her breathing growing shortened and irregular.

"Oh, how lovely. You even took upon yourself the burden of all that was done to you..." he hissed, leaning slightly forward with an evident evil satisfaction.

At that, Arielle watched a bright, red blood suddenly begin to trickle down from cuts on the warrior's brow and lip, which the bard would have found curious had the circumstances been different. She could hear Eden's tense body and ragged breathing making hardly noticeable pleas that were barely escaping through her clamped jaw.

"Oh, so much horror and pain that some of us experience in this life. I would pity you even... But I won't."

Eden was slowly losing control of her own body and spirit, but continued to fight with all her strength against the rider. She frantically scoured her memories, trying to find the good ones, the warm ones, the ones filled with light. And though few and far between, she held on to them desperately, like a drowning mariner clutching a plank on an angry sea.

"Leave her be, infidel!" Arielle suddenly cried.

But before she could make any move, he simply raised his hand and she froze. She felt an invisible, iron grip around her throat, clamping down mercilessly and she struggled, but in vain.

"Let's see how much she is worth, shall we?" he suggested to Eden and constricted his hand more and they both heard the blond cry out in pain, "Ah... that hurts you too, doesn't it?"

He sensed the hurt Eden felt through Arielle's pain and sneered at it. The memories Eden was holding on to were beginning to fade away, not strong enough to fight against the encroaching darkness and the weight of her guilt and sin. _Just surrender, you're not strong enough, let it go... No... _Arielle's struggling cut through her thoughts, her ears ringing with the sound of the bard's gurgling and whimpers.

"You could make this stop." the man noted so that both women could hear, "you could make this all go away. Peace, calm, quiet, isn't that what you really want? Call down your god, Christian! If it is like you say, then Allah will help you."

Eden said nothing and the man approached closer.

"Save yourself, pathetic follower of Christ." he snarled angrily, "Call down your benevolent god from your pristine heavens to save you from my grasp. If it is how you say and if are so much in his favor then he will save you. He will banish me and all this that I call mine will be yours and you will live your life like you desire. Just think, Christian, that which is of value to you will finally be yours. No more pain, no more fear. Just speak the words..."

Eden could feel a haze slowly covering her brain. In a last desperate attempt, her mind suddenly attached itself to the charge. All of her life force lurched at it, fusing with it, sustaining itself on it. Her heartbeat grew slower, but stronger, her breathing the same and her body fought against the rigidness. She took a breath. _Faith._

"Do not test the Lord, your God." she whispered painfully and enraged the man.

"Say it! Say the words! Bring down your god from the clouds and save yourself! You will have all you want and you will have it now! Otherwise die!" he screamed in fury, his eyes drilling deeper into Eden and tightening his grip around Arielle who was now yelling breathlessly.

"Vade, draco maledicte." Eden whispered through her teeth, tasting her blood in her mouth.

"Ghazi?" the man said in sudden amazement and that moment was enough.

His hold weakened by his surprise, Eden took advantage of it and in an explosion of desperate strength, unsheathed her sword and swung at him. He managed to evade her swing, but dropped his hand which released Arielle. Eden turned to her in the few seconds she knew they had before the demon came charging at them. She cupped the bard's face with her hand, watching her gasp for breath.

"Arielle," she said in low, but calm voice that made it seem like she was almost about to speak holy words and looking straight at her, "run now and don't look back. For anything."

"Eden..." the bard tried to protest.

"Go!" the warrior shouted and slapped Xanthus' side and the horse whinnied, turned, and galloped away.

"I see the treasure now, ghazi!" the man yelled and set to chasing Arielle.

But Eden cut him off, Arion standing defiantly in the way, causing the other horse to shirk away and having the demon nearly fall off his horse. The demon spun around, enraged. He brought his blade crashing down on Eden, but she was prepared. They clashed fiercely, nearly matching each other in power and skill. The rider finally took an underhanded swing at Arion and Eden reared back at the last minute to evade it. The demon took advantage of it and sprinted forward after Arielle. Eden took off right behind him. The horses grunted and their nostrils flared, the ground becoming steeper as they wound their way up through the mountains and in between the trees. Eden held the reins tight enough to let Arion know that they were on dangerous terrain and he responded with controlled force. The mountain became rockier higher up and cliffs appeared that plunged in some places straight down to the river below. Stones, boulders, trees, vines, protruding roots, and bushes made the ascent rough, but Arion was powerful and Eden determined and they stayed right on the demon's heels.

Xanthus appeared in the distance, standing next to some old ruins of a long forgotten castle. Arielle was standing right beside him. The demon caught a glimpse of her and urged his horse forward. Arielle saw them a few moments later and broke out into a chaotic run. The demon leapt off his horse and ran right after her, gaining quickly. Eden also leapt off her horse, knowing she wouldn't be able to take advantage of Arion's speed in all of the knots and tangles of the terrain.

Arielle ran as fast as her legs could take her, stumbling every once in a while over larger rocks, roots, or bushes. She turned her head around and saw the demon reaching out to grab her and she couldn't even find the voice to scream. _Eden..._ And then Arielle was gone from the demon's sight. A loud shout and groan and the rush of tumbling rocks and earth registered in the demon's mind quickly and he locked his legs, leaning back and to the side and slid towards the cliff, stopping at the edge in a cloud of dust. He peered over and saw the blond down below, hanging onto a root for dear life, her legs dangling in the air, the only thing below her being the river.

"Such a shame, fajr," he called out to her, "for even I can see Allah in you. But it will be a pleasure to see the torment in your defender."

"No! Eden!" the bard yelled.

A somersault through the air could be heard and the demon found two, blue, fixated lightning storms suddenly facing him.

"Growing sentimental, are you, ghazi?" the demon hissed lowly, his lip curling.

Eden replied with a sharp swing of her sword that sent the slightly surprised demon stumbling backwards.

"Hold on, Arielle!" Eden cried down to the bard.

Eden turned her head back to the demon just in time to see him bearing down on her, his sword overhead. He hit her ready sword with a ferocity and strength that pushed Eden back a little and down to one knee. Arielle felt stones and earth falling down on top of her and she looked up to see Eden kneeling on the edge of the cliff, it giving way beneath her.

"Eden!" she cried.

The warrior waited patiently for the slightest wavering in the demon's push, trying to balance herself on the crumbling cliff. Finally, she sensed the moment and drove her arms upward, up against the demon and pushed him back enough to be able to regain her footing.

"You are a challenge, Christian whore. I'm glad for I've spent so many centuries bored." the demon chuckled and they both heard Arielle scream out Eden's name again and some stones roll down the cliff, "Oh, such a difficult spot you're in. There's a price for friendship, have you forgotten?"

Eden closed her eyes and took a deep breath. For the outside world it seemed but a moment, but for her, time seemed to slow down. It was true, she hadn't forgotten. To her it almost seemed that she had been paying prices all her life, often not even knowing what for. And they had been hefty and high, leaving her dispossessed of nearly all the things she had. But this time it was a price she was asked to pay and she had accepted it. She had never asked Gabriel to take Arielle away; she had surprisingly never even thought it. No, there were some prices paid that left you with more than you had to begin with. _Faith._ She opened her eyes, revealing a clearer, sharper blue.

"I don't have time for you." she stated.

The warrior unleashed a barage of thrusts and slashes that the demon had a hard time dodging or deflecting. He was a good opponent, but Eden had fought and sent many greater than him to the dust before. Each movement began where the last ended, no energy or moment was wasted. A sudden overheard strike brought her to her knees. Yet, seeing her chance, she let his momentum drive her down a little into her heels and then, at nearly the last moment, when his driving momentum dissipated, she exploded upward from her heels, driving his sword nearly over his head and exposing his middle. She quickly flicked her wrist, bringing her blade downward, and drove it into his chest.

"Humiliare sub potenti manu dei, contremisce et effuge, invocato a nobis sancto et terribili nomine, quem inferi tremunt." Eden chanted, looking into the fading eyes of the demon, black blood spurting out of him, covering them both.

He slid down and fell dead to the ground. The face now looked peaceful and Eden shook her head. She then ran back to the edge of the cliff and peered over.

"Arielle?... Arielle!"

"Eden, help me!" came the tired cry.

"Hold on! I'm coming!"

Eden raced over to Arion, took a rope out of the saddlebags, and rushed back over to the ledge. She tied the rope around a large boulder and then tied the other end around herself. She grabbed the rope and lowered herself down until she reached the blond. Arielle was hanging on fiercely, but was also exhausted, pale, and terrified. The warrior maneuvered over to where Arielle was hanging, supported herself somewhat by resting one foot on a mound of earth and wrapped one arm around the bard.

"Come on. Grab the rope." Eden coaxed, but Arielle didn't move, "Come on, Arielle, that root can't hold you for much longer."

She pulled the bard a little closer and it somehow stirred her into action and she slowly moved her arms from the root to the rope, placing her hands right above the warrior's.

"There you go. I've got you." Eden said, not letting her go.

They hung there, swinging slightly, looking at each other. Yet, the warrior noticed a puzzling sound and looked up. She hadn't noticed the sharp edge of a rock jutting out just near the edge of the cliff and now the rather thin rope they were swinging on was being cut and beginning to fray quickly.

"Damn." Eden muttered.

She turned her eyes to the bard and looked at her with stony seriousness.

"You're going to have to climb up the rope." she stated.

"Eden, I can't... I'm tired... I can't..." the bard protested weakly, giving a pleading look.

"Yes, you can. Climb."

"No, I-"

"Damn it, princess! Climb up that rope before we plunge to our deaths. Move!" Eden yelled and it startled the bard enough to almost make her lose her grip.

Arielle gave her a frightened and hurt look that Eden made herself ignore by trying to push the bard up faster. Slowly but surely, Arielle climbed upwards. Yet, Eden could see that Arielle's climbing was causing a lot of movement of the rope, rubbing it against the sharp edge, fraying it even more.

"Climb faster, it's not going to hold the both of us!" Eden yelled when she saw the bard stop.

Arielle started climbing frantically causing more movement of the rope. Eden looked down around her and then looked back up to the bard. She then took out her dagger, cut the rope, and let herself fall. Arielle heard sounds of the shifting cliff, but was so focused on getting up and off that cursed rope that she turned around only when she had climbed safely onto the ledge. Eden was nowhere to be seen.

"Eden?" Arielle called out tentatively.

Silence. She glanced at the rope that had nearly frayed all the way through. She then saw the cut end dangling in the air.

"Eden?" she called out louder, "Eden?... Eden! Eden!"

Arielle threw herself away from the cliff in the terror of a realization forming in her head. She scurried away backwards on all fours until she reached the boulder the rope had been tied to and rested her back against it, thankful for its solidity. Her mind frantically tried to find a solution or explanation, but came up with nothing. Eden had fallen, cutting the rope she was on to save her. Just to save her. The thought caused her to draw up her knees to her chest and she wrapped her arms around them and rocked herself lightly back and forth.

"No, no, no." she practically chanted to herself, feeling the tears forming, "This can't be. It's not true. No, no, please God, no."

She rested her forehead on her knees, letting the tears fall silently, keeping the thought of the death of her friend at bay by repeating over and over that it simply wasn't so. Her lips silently spoke to anyone who would listen that she couldn't agree to this, that this had no right to happen.

"Well, I've had enough of rock climbing for a while." she heard a familiar voice say off in the distance.

The bard raised her head to her left and saw the warrior walking towards her up a path from the edge of the mountain.

"Eden?!" she asked in utter bewilderment, not noticing herself get up.

She watched the warrior walking, dusting herself off a little here and there as if she was just coming back from milking cows. And a sudden realization struck Arielle and her bewilderment shifted into a fuming anger. She stomped off towards the warrior with a vengeance.

"Eden!" she yelled when she reached her and pushed her with all her might.

"Hey! What?" Eden exclaimed, stumbling back, unprepared for the assault.

"What the hell do you think you were doing?!" the bard continued to yell, pushing Eden with every statement, "Why did you cut the rope? Why didn't you tell me?"

"The rope was fraying, there wasn't time." Eden tried to explain, but felt her voice rising with every push she was reluctantly allowing the bard.

"You could've told me! How dare you do that?! How dare you?!"

"How dare I?" Eden replied, feeling the anger rise in her now and halting her retreat, "I asked you to stay quiet, but you couldn't. I asked you to run at the moment of trouble, but you couldn't. You had to get yourself into trouble again. I was only trying to save your life!"

"Well, I am so sorry that I tried to help you. Yet when you yelled at me to climb, I climbed! But you just cut the rope!"

"I saw a way where I could land-"

"But you didn't tell me! You didn't say a single word!" the blond yelled angrily.

"I was trying to keep you alive!" the warrior yelled.

"And I thought you were dead!" the bard screamed out, pounding Eden's breastplate with her fists and Eden just gazed at her, stunned, "For me! I heard you fall! I thought you were gone! I thought you were lying dead somewhere at the bottom all because of me, you stupid, stubborn,-"

Arielle was cut off by the warrior's sudden embrace. Her first reaction was to tear herself away and she realized that her hands found their ways to the sides of the warrior and kept punching her in despair.

"It's alright. It's alright now. Calm down." Eden said quietly, letting the bard hit and curse her until she finally stopped, exhausted.

Eden pulled Arielle away to arm's length after a while and looked at her. The bard's face was covered in tears and dirt and she sighed tiredly, looking up at Eden.

"I could hate you," she sniffed.

"I know." the warrior said simply.

"You're lucky I don't." the bard added, giving her a soft pound to the shoulder with her fist.

"I know that too." Eden replied and they both smiled faintly.

Eden turned her head to the dead man lying on the ground with her sword still sticking out of him. She let Arielle go and walked over to him and Arielle followed her.

"He seems so... peaceful now." Arielle observed.

Eden said nothing, reaching over and neatly pulling her blade from his corpse.

"What is that stuff?" Arielle asked inquisitively, gazing at the blade covered in an almost black liquid and her curiosity caused her fingers to find themselves touching it.

"Don't touch that!" Eden exclaimed, grabbing Arielle's hand and pulling it away.

"Why? What's wrong? What is it?" the bard asked, a little confused.

"It's dangerous. It will... It will..."

Eden's voice trailed off as she looked at the bard's fingers covered in the black blood. She should have felt a searing sensation by then, the dark eating away through her skin to find its way into her soul. But Arielle felt nothing and the blood showed no reaction.

"That can't be... Unless..." Eden whispered in wonder, examining Arielle's hand, turning it over and back again.

"Eden, you're starting to scare me a little."

"It's just... strange." she said, looking up at the bard, still perplexed.

She wiped the bard's fingers clean with a cloth and then did the same for her sword and sheathed it while Arielle simply looked on in silence. Eden shook her head to clear it.

"Come on. We could both use a bath and I know just the spot."

They led the horses down the path Eden had come up from until they reached the river. There was a small spot where the riverbank widened and was nice and sandy and the river ran by strongly, but calmly. They stopped there, brushed down their tired horses and let them graze, taking their gear and placing it in a large nook in the cliff that formed a type of cave. They took off their armor and Eden took hers with her to the river's edge to clean. Arielle waded into the river while Eden first wiped down her armor, placing it out on the sand to dry. She then also waded in and began to wash her own dried blood from her face. Arielle noticed the distance Eden always kept, especially when they were bathing. It seemed to her almost that the lack of armor made Eden feel helpless and vulnerable and she compensated for that with physical distance. It amazed her how someone who risked her life for her without a second thought would then grow so bashful and fragile standing there in the flowing water.

"I think we'll just make camp here tonight. We won't make it back to the road before dark." Eden said while they sat on the sand, drying.

"We won't?... Yeah, I guess trying to escape from an angry demon makes you move a little faster than normal." the bard noticed and it got a small grin from the both of them.

They sat there for a while enjoying the rare quiet and calm of the spot. Unbeknownst to them, they were thinking the same thought. _The silence isn't as heavy and deafening as it once was. It's becoming quite... comfortable._

When they had dried, they dressed, made a fire and sat down to eat.

"Who was that... man?" Arielle finally asked, chewing on a piece of smoked fish.

"That was a jinn. Of a really nasty sort it turned out." Eden replied, tearing her bread into smaller pieces and tossing them in her mouth.

"What did he want?"

"What any evil spirit wants. To be evil." the warrior replied with a shrug.

"For no reason?"

"It's their nature. But this one was a lesser demon. He simply tried to trick me into showing that I had no real faith and was spurred by greed and selfishness."

"A lesser demon?" Arielle repeated. "There are... worse?"

"Much worse." Eden answered quietly.

"What did he... When he was staring... What did he do..." Arielle tried to ask, her voice dropping and slowing.

Eden sighed and rested her forearms on her knees and looked out down the winding river's path. _If some things could just float away like that, never to be seen again_.

"Different spirits have different abilities. This one dug up my bad memories, bad deeds... He made me relive them again, drowning me in that darkness..."

"I saw the wounds..." Arielle said gently.

She saw the warrior visibly stiffen and realized that she had hit a very raw spot.

"You know, when he had me, I couldn't see much of anything." the bard said, trying to shift the subject a little, "I just saw these screaming, blinding flashes of... white."

She turned to Eden and saw the warrior regarding her carefully, but remaining silent.

"Tell me how to kill a demon." Arielle said all of the sudden, giving the both of them a little bit of a shock.

"Well, it's the same as fighting a person, but demons will always test your faith using trickery and deception until you surrender to them in some way." the warrior replied.

"So sometimes you can fight a demon without even raising a sword?"

"Arielle," Eden responded, her voice becoming serious, "I would rather you avoid demons at all costs. Don't talk, don't fight, just run."

"But-"

"You are no match for one, Arielle. Please..." Eden interrupted.

Arielle nodded and looked out onto the river, disappointment settling on her face as she started throwing pebbles into the water with frustration. Eden sighed internally. She wanted to tell her. She wanted to explain to her that the war with demons was one that went on forever, that took its toll on heart and soul and was something never at all to be envied. She wanted to tell her that she didn't want the bard to end up like her. _You shouldn't ever lose that light of yours. The world is dark enough already. _But, in the end, she couldn't find the words.

Eden stretched herself out on the sand, resting in the slowly sinking rays of the sun, looking up at the sky. The effort of the day began to draw attention to itself in her muscles and she stretched, pulled, and squeezed them into ease. Arielle had given up her pebble throwing and was resting her chin on her bent knees, staring out over the river.

"You know," the bard began quietly, a little grin starting in the corner of her mouth, "I'm going to have to start borrowing from other kingdoms to make sure you're properly rewarded."

"Well," Eden snorted lightly, "that's what happens when no one listens to me. Kingdoms go bankrupt."

The bard chuckled softly and turned to Eden.

"Eden, I'm sorry-"

"Don't be." Eden countered, turning her gaze to her, "You're safe now. You're alive, we're both alive. That's all that matters now."

Eden could see that there was something more that the bard wanted to say, a feeling that what had been said didn't do the day justice. But the warrior didn't have the strength to say any more, she simply couldn't.

"Do you like swimming?" she suddenly asked, getting a bit of a perplexed look from the bard.

"Well, I'm not very good at it. I never actually learned really." the blond replied a little sheepishly.

"Well, that's not good." the warrior observed, getting up and standing next to Arielle who looked up at her, "Let's go then."

"What? Swimming? Now? But I don't know how."

"Then it's about time you learn. It's useful, especially when you're hanging off a cliff over a river."

"But, the current... What if it carries me away?"

"Well... isn't that what you have me for?" Eden asked with a small grin and raised eyebrow.

Despite her hesitation, the bard gave off a smile at the comment and got up. They dressed down to their underthings again and waded into the river until they were about waist deep. Eden found a spot where the bottom was solid and she felt well grounded and began to teach the blond how to swim. Arielle was nervous at first, feeling the strong pull of the water, but she felt a stronger and more secure hold on her from the warrior and soon she relaxed and began to even enjoy herself. Eden patiently gave her instructions and reminders, observing with satisfaction how fast and attentively the bard learned. After some time, the blond was swimming against the current with a reasonable amount of effort and a huge grin. Eden smiled lightly and folded her arms over her chest, her eyes never leaving the bard. Arielle turned her head up to the warrior, beaming happily in her success. She then noticed Eden's arms and realized that the warrior had let go of her and she had been swimming all by herself. The realization stunned her and she suddenly stopped swimming and the current took over, starting to pull her downstream. Before she had a chance to shout, she felt her body abruptly stop, a strong hand wrapped around her wrist. She turned her head and saw Eden standing in the water with no intention of giving up the bard to the river. She pulled the bard towards her through the flowing water until Arielle was able to get her footing and was standing across from her, dripping wet and smiling. Arielle noticed that Eden's tanned skin took on a unique softness in the last of the setting sun and she considered the twofold nature of the warrior. She stood there like a pillar against the relentless water, unmoved and unimpressed by its attempts to sweep her away. But there was the other side to her, the side that was bathed in the golden red light of the sun, letting little, playful sparkles dance in her eyes and her skin absorbed the light and turned the pillar into something soft and warm that Arielle simply wanted to wrap herself up in. _Which is your truer manifestation?_ A little, shimmering bead of water on Eden's brow drew the bard's attention to the small wound that remained. Arielle cautiously drew her hand up and lightly touched it and saw the warrior's jaw muscles tighten. But she kept her hand there still in an indescribable urge to just touch the wound and heal it, to fix the pain, to make it all disappear.

"Tell me where this is from." she gently requested.

"From a long time ago." Eden sighed, looking down at the water and hanging her head, breaking their contact, "It's getting dark. Let's go get dry."

Arielle simply stood there for a few moments, watching Eden return to shore, slouching under the burden of her sadness. Then she joined her.

* * *

*- Peace be upon you.  
- The Lord be with you.

- There is no god, but God!

- Go away, cursed demon.  
- Guardian?

Fajr- dawn, early morning.

- Be humble under the powerful Hand of God, tremble and flee, when we invoke the sacred and terrible name at which those down below tremble.


	13. Chapter 13

Arielle was walking back towards the road with a smile on her face. She had stumbled upon a wild apricot tree and plucked some of the remaining fruit off of it, carrying it in her hands like precious cargo, hoping it would be a nice surprise for her somewhat gloomy companion. Eden seemed to be immersed deep in thought ever since the encounter with the jinn, the bard noticed. Yet, although the warrior had turned quieter, she didn't seem to be disturbed or anxious and that fact made the bard a little calmer.

"Eden, look at what I fou-" Arielle started saying, emerging from the trees and seeing Eden standing in the middle of a group of groaning bandits, all writhing on the ground. "I see I missed out on some fun."

"Oh, we were just negotiating the road toll they demanded." the warrior shrugged with a slightly sheepish smile, sheathing her sword, "We get to continue on for free."

Arielle shook her head lightly with amusement and they walked towards each other.

"Apricots?" Eden asked, looking at what the blond was holding in her hands with interest.

"Mhm. I found a wild tree over there. I thought you might like some." the bard answered and stretched her hands out towards the warrior.

"Oh. Well, um, thank you." Eden replied with a little surprise, picking one fruit and biting it carefully.

"Oh, they're sweet, aren't they?" Arielle noticed, already having popped one in her mouth, chewing it eagerly.

Eden nodded and took two more, leaving the rest for the constantly hungry, young bard and motioned with her head to return to the horses and continue their journey.

* * *

"Don't you think that looks like a goat?" Arielle suddenly asked in curiosity some time later.

"Where?" Eden asked, scanning the countryside.

"That cloud on the horizon."

"Cloud?"

"Yes. Don't you think that cloud looks like a goat?"

"Well, it doesn't look like rain." the warrior answered, a little perplexed.

"Yes, I know that. But I'm asking you what it looks like to you. What it reminds you of."

"A cloud." Eden replied with a shrug.

"Come on, Eden, use your imagination." the bard gently persisted.

"I'm not the bard, remember?"

"But you are a human being. Eden, everyone has an imagination, you just have to know how to use it. Give it a try." Arielle continued convincing as she met the warrior's quiet and uncertain scowl, "Please?"

The bard gave Eden one of those innocent, pleading looks that the warrior had noticed she was quite good at giving. Eden didn't know why or how, but that look, those soft, green eyes in that look, always seemed to pull at something deep within her and render her nearly helpless and in complete surrender. Eden sighed and rolled her eyes slightly.

"That cloud over there?" Eden asked with some reluctance, pointing towards the horizon and getting a cheerful nod from the blond, "Hmm... still looks like a cloud to me."

"Eden..."

"Alright, alright. Let's see... I would say a battering ram."

"Of course." the bard commented, shooting her eyes up into the sky.

"You started this." the warrior reminded friendlily.

"I know, I know..." the bard replied, waggling her hand, "Well then, how about that one?"

"That big one? The siege tower?"

"A siege tower? It's a merchant ship! Aren't siege towers supposed to be standing?" Arielle argued amusedly, placing one hand on her hip.

"Unsuccessful siege." the warrior replied with a shrug and a mischievous glint in her eye.

Arielle chuckled and shook her head.

"Oh, what am I supposed to do with you, warrior?" she bantered.

Eden abruptly stopped and Arion became uneasy. The warrior swept her eyes back and forth over their surroundings.

"What is it?" Arielle asked, unconsciously moving closer to her, her voice low and quiet.

"Somebody's out there." Eden answered in a concentrated hush.

Arielle scanned the area, but didn't see or hear anything out of the ordinary at all. But Eden saw the single frightened bird flying away, heard the tense, muffled steps somewhere up on the side of the mountain, noticed that something was simply out of place, looming over them with the threat of danger. She focused her gaze on the mountainside above them.

"Get over there." she instructed the bard, pointing to a small, thick clump of trees off to the right side while she kept her gaze fixed on the mountainside to the left.

The bard opened her mouth to protest, but then closed it and quickly trotted off to the indicated spot. She dismounted, quickly strung her bow, and crouched down with a nocked arrow in the ready. Eden also dismounted and gave Arion a gentle push and he trotted off. She took a few steps closer to the mountain, peering intently. Then a feral crossed her lips.

"Come on down, boys!" Eden called up the mountain, "Or are you scared of a... woman?"

A couple seconds of silence were followed by a small, hopelessly flawed rockslide that Eden easily evaded, chuckling sinisterly as she hopped between and around the rocks tumbling out onto the road. The last little boulder was followed by a hysterical war cry and a band of eight raggedly dressed bandits came streaming down the side of the mountain with their swords and shields ready. Eden simply sighed, calmly drew her sword, and stood ready, twirling the blade lazily in her hand while she waited for the onslaught.

Eden was actually quite entertained by the bandits who were practically tripping over themselves and getting in each other's way in a frenzy to get at Eden first. Her amused battle laugh could be heard between the clashes of metal and wood. An arrow pierced the shoulder of the man to Eden's right and the man next to him turned around to see where it came from. He spotted Arielle drawing another arrow and he nudged two of his comrades, pointing towards the bard with his sword. They took off immediately after Arielle and when she noticed them coming after her, the bard broke out into a run through the trees. Her mind raced over a rescue plan for herself, the continuing clashes that were slicing through the air telling her that her companion had problems of her own. The bard knew she couldn't run forever and the trees were only growing fewer as she ran towards the sea. She saw a large cedar ahead of her and decided to make her stand there, the tree covering her back. She reached the tree and whirled around, breathing heavily, holding her bow and arrow ready.

"Hey now, pretty little thing," one of the bandits teased when they all reached her, equally out of breath, "can't shoot us all. Seems like we've got you."

"Oh, on the contrary," Eden growled, appearing from behind a tree in back of the group and pointing her sword at them, "I've got you."

"What a bitch." the bandit complained.

They ran at the warrior and in a combination of three graceful moves, she neatly took out the three nearly breathless bandits, giving the complaining one an extra kick in the groin.

"That'll teach you to use that kind of speech towards a lady." Eden noted as the bandit dropped to the ground in a long moan.

The warrior sheathed her sword and jogged over to Arielle.

"Are you alright?" Eden asked.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just out of breath."

"Well, that was quite a run." the warrior noted, "Come on. Let's go back. I just can't wait to see what else is waiting for us on this road."

They walked back through the trees to the road, leaving the broken bandits behind them.

"I was going to make a stand there." the bard said, looking at Eden as they returned to the road and found their horses dutifully waiting for them, "I thought I was going to have to defend myself with my sword."

"Well, fortunately, it didn't come to that." Eden said, remembering the bard's qualms about carrying a sword from the very beginning.

"You know," the bard mused, looking down at her short sword, a tiny grin starting to quiver in the corner of her mouth, "I don't think I've ever drawn it yet..."

In a quick movement, Arielle drew her sword and pointed it at the warrior with a proud grin.

"Ha! I've got you now, warrior!" she called out happily.

Eden raised a brow. With agility that the bard hardly had time to register, Eden gave a sudden front jump kick, sending the sword flying out of the stunned blond's grip and up into the air until it fell back down into Eden's patiently waiting hand. She then took the blade and slowly pointed it at Arielle.

"On the contrary, I've got you, bard." she countered slowly with a mischievous grin turning up the corner of her mouth.

"I surrender, I surrender!" Arielle cried playfully, raising her hands in the air in submission.

Eden flipped the sword around and handed the hilt-side of it to Arielle and the bard took it.

"One day, warrior, you will be mine." Arielle threatened lightheartedly, sheathing her sword and mounting her horse.

In Eden's mind a thought flashed that someday that just might be the case.

* * *

As usual, it was Eden who heard the shouting first and trotted ahead to see what was happening. Further down the road, five bandits were assaulting an elderly, weary traveler who was bravely trying to fight off his assailants with a traveling stick while pleading for mercy.

"Is there some kind of bandit festival today that I don't know about?" Eden muttered in annoyance as Arielle trotted up beside her.

Eden galloped off without a word. She knocked down the bandit the elderly man was fighting the moment she arrived and two of the bandits launched themselves at her when she turned around. She dispatched them with ease, watching through the corner of her eye as an arrow sailed through the air and landed in the thigh of the bandit who was still harassing the old man. The last remaining bandit, seeing that he was outnumbered and outmatched, quickly turned and ran away, dragging his wounded comrade with him.

The elderly man dusted himself off and picked up his bundle from the ground as Arielle trotted up and stopped beside Eden. He almost looked like a forgotten monk, dressed in a long, gray tunic, tied at the waist with an old, leather belt and his short, white beard matched the thinning white hair on his head.

"Praise be to you, kind warriors." he said, "I give you my thanks."

"No need." Eden replied tiredly before Arielle had a chance to speak, "You should move along now."

The old man looked in Eden's direction with a somewhat surprised, but curious expression. They noticed his continual stare that was off place and his clouded eyes.

"Are you alright?" Arielle asked.

"Yes, a little shaken up perhaps, but nothing serious. Thanks to the both of you mostly." he answered.

"Well, that's good to hear. We're glad we could help." Arielle said with a smile and could almost hear Eden sigh impatiently.

"I am Thomas of Corinth. Who should I say were my angels?" the elderly man asked.

"We just happened to be passing by. We are no angels." Eden answered flatly, watching the elderly traveler and ignoring the stare she was receiving from the blond.

"Are you not? I thank you all the same guardians." Thomas replied gently.

Eden froze for a moment and stared at the man with a harsh and suspicious look. Arielle felt herself grow tense; the sudden, strained reaction in Eden made her start to fear that Eden might actually do harm to him.

"I live not far from here, just outside Beirut. Please, let me extend my hospitality to you in reward for your help." he offered warmly.

"We didn't help you for a reward." Eden answered shortly, "Anyways, we're on our way to Jerusalem."

"But the day is nearing an end and I really do not live far off. Please, I humbly ask you."

Eden felt a strange aura about the elderly man and studied him closely. She could sense that Arielle wanted them to take the traveler up on the offer, they had had a tiring day and a warm meal would be welcome. The traveler didn't seem to emanate any danger though she continued to feel oddly nervous and Eden finally shrugged.

"I suppose there is no harm in it." Eden finally conceded, "We'll escort you home, though it seems you fare quite well, even outnumbered."

"Ah, thank you for the kind words, but there is only so much these old bones can do." Thomas replied.

"Would you like to ride?" Arielle offered.

"No, dear one, thank you, but I fare much better on the ground at my age."

"Then let me at least carry your bundle."

"Oh, if that's not a problem. Thank you, indeed."

Arielle leaned over and took the bundle from him and attached it to her saddle. She was aware of Eden watching them both very closely, but it worried her that it made her feel uneasy this time. There was a sense of distrust in the warrior radiating from her guarded air and tensed muscles ready to pounce at any moment. Arielle couldn't see where any harm could come from the side of this particular traveler and simply decided to be gentle towards him where Eden could or would not be. _What is going on with her?_

Arielle and Thomas engaged in petty conversation almost the whole way to Thomas's home and Eden rode in back of them, remaining silent and alert. They reached his home when the sun finally pulled its last ray below the horizon. The women dismounted and Thomas ushered them inside, offering food and drink. His asked them to sit, asking Eden to pull the table next to the bench that was against the wall. The women sat down on the bench as Thomas made his way around gathering food and plates and finally sat down in a chair across from them.

"You have a very nice home, Thomas." Arielle noticed, sipping some cider and starting on a bowl of stew that he had given each of them.

"Oh, thank you. It may not be much, but it is a home."

"Do you live here by yourself?" Eden asked, trying her best to keep her voice neutral despite feeling inexplicably uncomfortable.

"I do. Sometimes the neighbors come to help with more difficult things, but I get by on the day to day."

"Commendable." Eden offered.

"Or foolish." Thomas countered with a smile.

"Perhaps."

"We do not chose our fate, but we do chose what we decide to do with it." he said, his tone growing a little lower which started making Eden nervous, "Ah, but I can tell you it is nice to have a conversation with someone once in a while. To talk of different things, to tell stories..."

"Do you like stories?" Arielle asked, her interest peaked.

"Oh, I do. There are so many interesting stories to hear and tell. I was not born ancient, dear one, I have lived to see and hear many wonderful things." he chuckled lightly.

"Would tell us one of your tales? Please? I haven't heard one in such a long time."

"Of course, dear one. Let me see... Ah, I think I have a suitable one. Do you believe in angels, dear one?"

"Yes, I do. Though I haven't heard any tales about them. Do you really have one?" Arielle asked, the excitement clearly heard in her voice.

"Ah, I do. A great one." he claimed.

Eden leaned back on the bench, her arms crossed over her chest, constantly feeling on edge. Arielle leaned forward, elbows propped up on the table, her chin resting on her balled fists, her eyes wide with excitement and interest. Thomas took a sip of cider and then a deep breath.

"It is said that when God created the earth and heavens, He also created angels. Most of the angels served Him loyally, cherishing and praising His name. Yet, when God created man, some of the angels were displeased since man was given God's highest favor. So they rebelled against the Creator and fell from Heaven. Restless and envious of man and the riches he had at his disposal, they roamed the earth and took women. The offspring of these unseemly unions were savage giants who laid waste to all they saw. They taught man things like black magic, weaponry, and other forbidden knowledge. In anger, God finally decided to rid the earth of the offspring through the great flood from which only Noah was saved."

Thomas stopped to take another sip of cider and Eden noticed her heartbeat begin to quicken.

"Those fallen angels were called the Watchers and were bound in darkness to the earth by God until Judgment Day. Yet lest the Watchers reek too much havoc amongst men, God called into service those called guardians. It is said they are the spirit of angels in the body of man. They are known for their virtue, honor, and skill, being able to see and speak to the Lord and all that is holy, for each is a chosen one of the Almighty Himself. God dispersed the guardians all over the earth to protect mankind from the black tricks of the Watchers. It is said that they live like normal human beings, with everyday lives, families, and homes. Yet they possess the soul of an angel and can fight with evil in ways that man cannot. And so the battle between good and evil is waged everyday in realms sometimes unseen to the ordinary human eye, maybe even right under your nose, dear one." Thomas said and tapped the end of Arielle's nose gently with his finger and it scrunched up cheerfully.

"Have you ever seen any of these guardians, Thomas?" Arielle asked in utter curiosity, taking a handful of dates from the center of the table.

"Oh, but I have, little one. They live amongst us."

"Do they really? But then how do you know that someone is a Guardian?"

"Ah, little one, some say that they can be distinguished through their deeds, their honor can be so great. It is said they surpass others in strength, agility, wit, and endurance. Some claim they can come back from the dead. Others that they speak tongues unknown to any man. Still others that their blood flows a bright red."

Arielle gazed at him with wonder for a few moments until something suddenly began to register in her mind and her expression turned into a surprised confusion mixed with a pinch of fear.

"Bright, red blood?" she repeated, her eyebrows knotting.

Eden's bleeding image from her fight with the jinn suddenly flashed in her mind, engraving itself almost painfully into her senses. She suddenly turned around to look at a very tense Eden who was glaring a hole into the table.

"Eden?..." the bard whispered in amazed shock, her hand absently rising to half-way cover her mouth.

Arielle gasped as Eden suddenly shot up from the bench, her eyes locked on the aged man.

"Who are you?" Eden hissed, her hand on the hilt of her dagger.

"Do not fear me, guardian, I shall not harm you." Thomas said, his tone low and gentle, "I was who you are. I am who you will be."

"You know nothing of me nor am I meant to live to see your years." Eden replied sternly after a few moments of heavy silence.

"Oh, dear warrior," Thomas chuckled warmly, "not all can be seen by the naked eye."

"You..." Arielle whispered, staring at the warrior in disbelief, "I thought... How... What are... How can this..."

Eden only looked at her sternly with an unreadable expression, feeling exposed and unarmed. She wanted to run out of the room, she wanted to escape and never come back. She cursed herself for being foolish enough to think that maybe Arielle would be different, that maybe this time it wouldn't make a difference who she really was. Being a guardian made her different and she was tired of being different, tired of being poked, prodded, judged and misunderstood. It had plagued her all her life and she sometimes wished for the peace that came about from being just like everyone else.

"There now, little one. You may be astonished, but do not judge or be unfair. It's not a light burden to carry nor a simple thing to say." he told Arielle mildly and then turned to Eden, "Sit, guardian, please. You have only friends here."

Eden turned to him and regarded him for a few moments before slowly taking her seat.

"Who are you?" she asked again, in a low and wary tone.

"I am a guardian, a guardian healer to be exact. I used to be of more service before the years whittled me away. My brother was a guardian warrior. I made potions, he made wounds. Alas, he met the fate most warriors do and left this world long before I would ever consider it to be his time." he explained, his voice now weighed down with a certain sadness.

"Now you know why I said that your years are not meant for me." Eden replied, never taking her gaze off him.

"Ah, I see..." he commented, nodding slowly, "So, you are a warrior too."

"I am."

"What?... What... Who are you? Who are you, Eden?" Arielle stammered out in shock and disbelief, staring at the warrior with wide eyes.

Eden's eyes flashed with anger and hurt when they met Arielle's. She felt betrayed that her secret was uncovered in such a way, but now there was no use in hiding or denying it. She felt abnormal, hideous, and rejected under the bard's baffled gaze and that last question. There was a part of her that understood Arielle, knowing that there really wasn't much of any other reaction Eden could expect. But the hurt part of the warrior was louder and angrier, so she decided to continue to be different and cast her own little dreams aside.

"I am Eden, guardian warrior, the elect of Michael the Archangel, the chosen one of God Almighty." Eden announced and then turned to Thomas, "though I would stop short at the virtue and honor that I supposedly have."

"Oh, each one of us carries our own cross and shadows, dear guardian." Thomas chuckled softly, shaking his head.

"I can imagine." Eden replied sarcastically.

"You harbor much anger." Thomas chanced, his voice turning a little sad with the thought.

"I have many good reasons."

Thomas grew quiet, looking out into the distance with his unseeing eyes, his forehead and brows knotted in concentration. Eden began to feel a warmth grow in her chest. Though she knew what he was doing and didn't want to have it done, the warmth was a relaxing kind, one she had not felt for a long time and it rendered her unprotected and vulnerable. He slowly reached out and put his hand on top of Eden's head and read what was there.

"Oh... There is much turmoil and desolation here. Oh, my dear, dear guardian. Such loss and pain... Such fear of..."

"Enough!" Eden shouted, tearing herself out from under Thomas's hand and breathing heavily as Arielle, beginning to shake herself free of her utter astonishment, moved a little closer to her in concern.

"But there is also a tiny ray of hope. It grows with a frail but pulsating heartbeat." Thomas continued, lowering his hand.

"I don't see it." Eden retorted, still breathing hard.

"Oh, but you do, guardian."

"Are you alright?" Arielle finally asked Eden quietly.

The bard lifted her hand, but let it safely hover over the warrior's shoulder. Eden's eyes didn't leave the old guardian.

"You see it... with your heart." Thomas said with certainty in his voice.

Arielle turned her gaze from the warrior, to Thomas, and then back to Eden again. She let her hand gently rest on the warrior's shoulder, but Eden jerked it away.

"I see nothing." she spat out, getting up and suddenly storming out of the room.

A silence hung in the air for a while after Eden had left as the gray guardian and bard collected their thoughts.

"Ah, such a shame, that one... I feel such sympathy for her... Such a burden..." Thomas sighed, resting his hands on his lap.

"I... I had no idea... I knew there was something... She's somehow... different, you know?... But she said... nothing to me." Arielle stammered out.

"Can you blame her, young one?" Thomas countered softly, "She has known since she was a child that she was chosen and has paid a very high price for that knowledge. And you knowing she was a guardian could put you in danger, child. She would probably have none of that..."

Arielle thought over that for a while, staring at her fingers as they rolled a spoon over and over. _Is this that burden she carries around constantly? Is this that weight that nearly breaks her shoulders?_

"What does all this mean, Thomas? Who is she really?" the bard finally asked in a frustrated confusion.

"Ah, that is the simplest and most difficult question. She is both unique in every way and just the same as everyone else. You see, young one, each of us has a guardian angel that looks over us, that you know. But there are some who merge with their guardian angel to such a point that they practically become one entity. A guardian houses all the heavenly power a human body can withstand. She is an ordinary person like you or me, but she sees, feels, and knows more than most. Eden has abilities and senses that are amplified which is both a blessing and a curse."

"How could it be a curse? She has an angelic soul!" Arielle blurted out.

"She is only merged with the angel, her soul is her own. The angel helps her fight demons and relate to God. The rest is her own person." Thomas explained, "As to the curse... It is a very heavy burden to bear... It's a sacrifice from the very beginning..."

"Thomas..." Arielle said softly, her mind absorbing all his words, "You saw... things... in her... What did you see?... What is the hurt she carries?"

"My dear one..." he answered, shaking his head slowly, "It is not for me to say. But I can tell you that her price has been paid... more than once..."

"What can I do... to help her?" the bard finally asked quietly and Thomas smiled.

"Go to her. Show her she still has a friend."

Arielle nodded, got up, and walked outside. She looked around for Eden and found her finishing brushing down Arion in the torchlight, her face stern, her jaw muscles flexing. But then she watched as the warrior put the brush away and began to stroke the horse's muzzle. Her mouth moved with words the bard couldn't hear and her movements were gentle and caring. Arielle let out a sad sigh at the thought that Eden probably considered Arion her only real friend, the only creature on the earth who accepted and trusted her exactly the way she was. The bard walked over to her slowly, thinking of a hundred different things to say and all of them coming out wrong. She fumbled with a tie in her leather armor, giving her nervous hands something to do.

"Eden, I'm-"

"Leave it." Eden interrupted coldly and caused the bard to flinch a little.

"I'm trying to tell you something."

"Well, I don't want to hear it right now."

"Eden, you have to let me apologize." Arielle pleaded.

"No, duchess," Eden spat, shooting a glance at the bard, "I don't have to do anything."

Arion snorted loudly and Eden turned on her heel and began to stomp off into the distance.

"Eden, I'm sorry!" Arielle called out to her and watched Eden stop in her tracks, a small, thin cloud of dust collecting around her boots, "I was... I was just surprised, that's all. I don't know why you didn't tell me... I... I don't think any less of you..."

Eden turned around slowly and faced the bard, her face looking strained and tired.

"You should think less of me. I'm different, peculiar, nobody you would want to be around." the warrior explained in a hurt tone.

"Eden, you... you are different." the bard said gently and as she saw the warrior throw her arms up into the air in disbelief, she quickly added, "you're better."

Eden's hands fell loosely to her sides as if they had suddenly forgotten what they were doing. She watched the bard, trying to decide whether the blond really meant the words that meant more to the warrior than she would let on. But of all the things she could describe the blond as, she couldn't say she was deceitful or devious. The warrior slowly walked back towards the bard until they were standing face to face.

"I really was stunned. I didn't mean..."

"It's alright, I know. Maybe I should have told you..." Eden admitted with a sigh.

"Maybe, but I'm not all that surprised that you didn't. After all, we don't know each other all that well..."

"No..."

And then something that the both of them had been subconsciously aware of shot up in offense. Deep within them, it rebelled against the statement as if trying to tell them that they had known each other for lifetimes and lifetimes. For Arielle, their forming friendship wasn't anything much outside of the ordinary, except for her bizarre interest in the warrior and insistence on finding what she held within. For Eden, their friendship was one baffling amazement after another. She was astounded and worried about the rate and ease with which the young bard was scaling her walls and prying open her gates. No matter what defense she put up, the giddy blond would some nifty little way around it and come bounding in with a smile on her face. It all scared her nearly half to death.

"Begging pardon, fair warriors," Thomas called out into the night, poking his head out the door, "take rest here tonight if you may. The road to Jerusalem is still long. It's no burden at all for those who saved this shriveled, old fruit."

Eden looked at Thomas, then down at Arielle who was grinning, and nodded her head.

"Thank you, Thomas!" Arielle answered and the two women walked back to the door, "Actually, we are quite tired. Between raiders and demons, we could use a little sleep."

"Demons?" Thomas asked, raising his eyebrows in interest.

"We met a jinn on the road." Eden explained as they walked in and she shut the door behind them.

"It was the strangest thing, he seemed to just rise up out of the ground, his eyes black as night... Sent a chill up my spine." Arielle said.

"You saw him too?" Thomas asked.

"What do you mean? Of course I saw him too. He was right there. We were both watching as he approached. Why?" Arielle replied, growing a little confused.

Eden wrapped her arms around herself in growing tension again as Thomas said nothing, waiting for an answer.

"It's true." Eden said quietly.

"I see..." Thomas mused and then turned in Arielle's general direction, "May I?" he asked, raising his hand.

"Yes, of course." Arielle answered, a little bewildered and anxious and rested her head beneath Thomas's hand.

"Ah... Blinding light and... and... a gaping emptiness..."

He removed his hand and Arielle looked to the both of them for answers.

"What is it?" she demanded softly.

Thomas opened his mouth to answer until her heard Eden's voice cut through his mind.

'You know your connection can work both ways, healer.' she spoke to him in his thoughts.

'Ah, you are gifted guardian. Not all know that. Even fewer can use it.'

'Please, do not tell her what we both know.'

'Why?' the healer asked, slightly puzzled.

'Let her live in the peace she won't know otherwise. Let her live in a world full of colors and dreams. Please, I ask you as a guardian.'

'But-'

'I will beg you if you make me.'

Thomas sighed.

'Alright then. Since it means this much to you warrior, I will say nothing. But she will learn in time.'

'Perhaps. But not now.'

'Protect her, warrior. Guard her closely.'

'Of course. Thank you.'

Thomas took a deep breath.

"You have a beautiful soul, little one." Thomas answered warmly, "A true light in this world."

The bard looked at him speechless and then darted her eyes to the ground, fighting back a shocked blush.

"Let us rest, fair maidens. The day has been a long one." Thomas offered.

"Yes, you're right." Arielle replied.

The women lay their bedrolls out on the floor in a second little room he had, despite his insistence that at least one of them take the bed and rest in comfort or at least sleep in the larger room, close to the fire. Eden lay staring at the ceiling, waiting for sleep to take her and wondering what else lay ahead of them before they reached Jerusalem.

"Why didn't you tell me, Eden?" the bard whispered, the hurt tainting her voice.

"It's not exactly something one goes around sharing freely."

"But you could have told me."

"How exactly? Hello, my name is Eden. Oh, by the way, I'm an angel in human form. Here, have a pomegranate." Eden retorted sarcastically.

"I thought we... were friends..." Arielle protested quietly and heard Eden sigh heavily and turn on her side to face the bard.

"This is... How do I explain something I sometimes don't even fully understand myself... or want to... It's... It's just..." Eden tried to say and finally sighed with frustration, "I just wanted... to be me... for a while... and protect you..."

Arielle turned it over in her mind a couple of times. She had felt such shock from the news and hurt from the fact she wasn't told that she had forgotten to think of how Eden felt. The warrior was rough, a little scary and angry, and all around difficult, but she took Arielle's protection very seriously. Eden carried around her own burdens and troubles, trudging forward stubbornly under their weight. But when it came to the bard, the warrior simply flung it all aside and focused only on her. The memory of the night Eden had held her to guard her against her nightmares filled her with warmth. _Yes, I did feel safe and protected_.

"It's just a surprise, I guess..." Arielle finally confessed, letting out a deep breath and seeing Eden's troubled look even in the grayish dark, "So... can you see in the dark?"

"No." Eden replied, stupefied.

"Do you know the future?" the bard continued, her tone growing playful again.

"No."

"Can you fly?"

"Arielle!" the warrior cried out softly and the bard giggled.

They both smiled at each other, the tension and uneasiness having faded away. They finally closed their eyes and the warrior fell asleep after the bard did and both dreamed of big, white clouds.


	14. Chapter 14

Quite a distance away from Beirut, the two women were eating in the checkered shade of an abandoned olive grove, resting against the forgotten trees. It was quiet; a warm breeze faintly ruffled their hair and rustled the remaining leaves.

Although she kept it well hidden, Eden had been observing the bard's behavior towards her closely, fearful it would change awkwardly or even hurtfully now that she knew that Eden was a guardian. Yet, the bard surprised her pleasantly by treating the warrior exactly the same as before.

"I was thinking about what you said about your sword..." Eden started quietly, referring to the blond's comment from the day before, "I thought that maybe... maybe you could... or maybe I could... teach you... to use it..."

"Oh, I see. Now that I know that you're a guardian, you thought that it would be a good idea if I could at least give the impression that I can defend myself, right? We wouldn't want me to bring you any shame now, would we?" Arielle asked with a slight twinkle in her eye and her hands on her hips.

Eden gave her a slightly flustered look, knotting her brows a little and about to protest.

"Oh, Eden," the bard said with a giggle, "I know just as much about weapons and fighting as I do about metal farming. I really do realize that."

"You... you can't farm metal..." Eden observed warily.

"Which just goes to show you how much I know about it." the bard replied cheerily and then lifted an eyebrow, trying to mimic her companion, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't I ask you to teach me fighting weeks ago already?"

The corner of Eden's mouth mischievously twitched as she rose silently, drew her sword, and looked at her with fake menace.

"Oh, alright, alright, calm down," Arielle soothed playfully, raising her hands up in front of her, "I get the point. You were busy. I understand."

A small grin appeared on Eden's face and she shook her head slightly. The warrior let the bard finish eating and then they walked a few paces off to a place with more space to practice. Eden taught Arielle some basic things about the sword, focusing on holding it, balancing it, and different defensive moves. The warrior noticed the intensity with which the bard listened and then practiced, that same intensity that she invested in all the things the warrior had showed her. Eden was used to seeing bloodthirsty men sword training; hacking away with deranged looks on their faces and blood lust in their eyes. The bard followed the warrior's patient instruction and practiced with an element of playfulness and innocent wonder that found its way under all the warrior's armor and tugged at her heart, bringing a stubborn little smile to her face.

"So, how is this move now?" Arielle asked, turning to the warrior, "Am I holding... Are you smiling?!"

"Start from the beginning!" Eden called out, the smile automatically disappearing into her usual sour look.

After Arielle had practiced with the air a little, Eden became her opponent. Arielle convinced the warrior to at least try and that it would be much more helpful than fighting air unless, of course, she ever had to battle a very angry breeze. Eden shrugged and reluctantly agreed. The bard saw the features in the warrior grow very tense and for a moment she almost regretted talking her into sparring with her. But it went smoothly and gently, the warrior putting just enough pressure on her to force her to focus and work, but not enough to strain her senseless. Eden was most focused on controlling herself, especially her anger. She knew that she was potentially dangerous and that she could easily shift from a sparring partner to an authentic threat in a second. Yet, it wasn't as difficult as Eden was afraid it might be. The bard's sporadic giggles, smiles, and happy shouts when she got something right somehow seemed to calm the warrior, a sense of comfort sinking down to her frazzled nerves and soothing them slowly.

They finished their sparring once Arielle finally felt pleasantly tired.

"I have to say," Arielle observed, breathing a little hard, "I really don't know how you can do this all the time. I'm tired... and hungry."

"You just ate!" Eden exclaimed, her arms flying up to the sides and then falling back down, landing loudly on her thighs.

"Yes, well, I used it all up with all that parrying, guarding, and trapping." the bard explained with a sheepish grin.

Eden let out an exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes.

"It's a good thing Thomas to a liking to you." Eden said, tossing her a bag of dried fruit and nuts that the gray guardian had insisted the bard on taking.

"He was a very nice man." Arielle noted thoughtfully, catching the bag and starting to eat from it.

They sat down on the ground, the bard happily munching, the warrior absently pulling on semi-dry blades of grass. The bard silently observed Eden from the corner of her eye as the warrior twisted the grass with her fingers and swept the land with her alert gaze. She wondered over all the things that had happened to them since they first met. Most of it had been tense or unpleasant; Arielle had witnessed things she would have never wanted to. Yet, she also noticed that Eden was beside her the entire time and now, well, now it seemed to the bard that the warrior was just starting to let a different, more gentle side peek through. It trickled out through the cracks of her constant gloomy warrior stance and Arielle basked in a certain pride that she had helped chip away some of that formidable wall around Eden's heart and hoped that one day, the wall would come crumbling down. And there, now, with the sun shining on her face and a light breeze brushing away the hair from her forehead, the warrior was taking a second to do nothing else but observe the grass in her hand, turning it in fingers, oblivious to the blond's gaze. There was no blood, no hate, no violence, no anger and Arielle found herself lacking words. _She is... She is... fascinating._

They finally rose when Arielle had finished eating and resting, mounted their horses, and returned to the road, trotting rather leisurely and enjoying the nice day and quiet.

"Eden, can I ask you something?" Arielle asked tentatively and Eden turned to look at her, her brows furrowed slightly.

"You can ask my anything. Whether I'll answer... What is it?"

"What did Thomas mean... and what did you mean... when you spoke of warriors not reaching Thomas's years?"

"Ah..." Eden replied as quietly as the bard had asked, turning her gaze forward again with a slow, single nod.

The question had a simple answer, but Eden noticed the strange apprehension with which it was asked and tried to find a way to at least be slightly more gentle than she was accustomed to being.

"Well," Eden started, slowly and quietly, "some guardians are healers like Thomas, some are seers, others warriors... Warriors are most often in harm's way... Things happen..."

"Can you choose a different way? Change it somehow?"

"No. It's not something imposed upon us; we find it ourselves. It's our choice." Eden replied matter-of-factly.

Eden kept her gaze pinned ahead of her in order not to see the bard's somewhat sad stare that the warrior could feel resting upon her. Eden wouldn't know how to react to it. _Why do you seem to care? Of what use am I? There would be no loss for the world with my absence. _Yet, then Eden realized that the very fact that she was asking those questions in her head was strange; she had been so sure of the answers before that she wouldn't have bothered to ask. And again she found herself wondering over the influence the bard was starting to have over her. On the one hand, Eden realistically knew that they hadn't known each other all that long, yet she could not escape a peculiar feeling that they actually knew each other well and had now been simply reunited after a very long time. The bard seemed to pick at her every lock, pry open her every hinge, open her every gate as if it was nothing at all. Men, families, and even kingdoms had succumbed to Eden, but never being able to pierce her armor. But this young, little bard could and with nothing more than a smile. And Eden began to realize that the thought began to nurture a feeling deep inside her chest which wasn't fear.

"Not every warrior is doomed..." Eden tried to comfort, yet keeping a stoic presence, "We go when our time comes, no matter who we are."

Arielle found that the comment actually made her feel a little better and the sadness slowly disappeared from her face. She wondered quietly over her reaction. She had always been considered an emotional woman, but the feelings that Eden began to evoke within her were different from the rest. Each of them, from happiness to sadness, carried with them a growing sense of attachment. Her emotions came from deeper and deeper within her spirit and began to have a growing influence on her thoughts and decisions. The warrior occupied the bard's thoughts more and more often and Arielle noticed that each new thing that she learned about Eden didn't really satisfy her curiosity, but only made it amplify. It was almost like she couldn't know enough, hear or see enough, or even be close enough and it was as exciting a feeling as it was frightening.

Some time later, Eden stopped abruptly and then a moment later Arielle also noticed the smoke rising up from a village in the distance. Without a word, they both had decided to ride up and investigate. They nudged their horses into a canter and not long after found themselves near the outskirts of the village. Eden stopped again and studied the scene closely. The stinging smell of smoke and dust invaded her nose and caused her jaw to tense and eyebrows to furrow.

"Keep close and no arguments." Eden said to Arielle.

They carefully continued towards the village. Arielle noticed that all the signs of good humor disappear from the warrior who instead turned gloomy and on edge. They rode through the village solemnly alert. The eerie quiet informed them that Death had claimed dominion over the area and that Eden and Arielle were not welcome. Smoke snaked through opened doors, up burned through roofs, along charred walls, off of still smoldering bodies. Broken belongings lay carelessly strewn around along with those whose life had been violently taken away. Arielle could hardly believe her eyes; men run through, children cut down, women with their dresses flung over their faces and heads. Their blood crept out along the dusty village paths, mixing with the churned dirt, soot, and shattered pieces of things and it all looked like a hellish mosaic put together by the Devil himself. The dead meandered between the maimed and the charred and Arielle felt her stomach begin to churn at the sight and stench of it all. Eden turned to see a man hanging off a hovel wall, a spear run through him, his eyes scooped out. The two women dismounted in a grim quiet and Eden walked up the man and pulled the spear out, letting him drop to the ground. Arielle suddenly grabbed her stomach, ran to the nearest wall, and vomited. Eden heard the bard's body violently rejecting all the things that it was experiencing; she knew that reaction all too well. The warrior looked around and saw a bloodied warrior's body lying on the ground and approached it. Eden stood over the corpse belonging to one of those who had raided the village, three deep holes in him which fit the pitchfork lying next to him. Eden bent down on one knee and peered into the dead man's face.

"Damned be you, Saracen." she hissed with loathing, cursing mostly what she saw of herself in him.

Eden got back up and turned towards Arielle. The bard was sitting on the ground, her back up against the wall, holding her stomach and looking around in a horrified disgust. She caught the warrior's gaze as she approached her. A sickening feeling entered Eden as she saw the blond's reaction to the destruction that surrounded them. It troubled her to the core because she knew that it was close to the same destruction she herself had taken part in not all that long ago. The blood, the fire, the chaos; it had all been an intricate part of her and she had relished drowning in it. For so long Eden had judged herself by the fear she saw in other people's eyes, but she suddenly realized that fear was the last thing she wanted to see in the green eyes of the bard. The warrior felt disgusted with herself, the carnage around them resurrecting shallowly buried images of her own trials and sins, swirling inside her like a tempest. Eden walked up to her apprehensively, expecting to be judged, condemned, and executed by the young blond through the horror and revolt she most undeniably felt now. She crouched down in front of Arielle, one woman just as pale as the other.

Eden looked into the bard's eyes; the usual, bright forest green had now somehow faded to the shade of dying grass. But Eden saw the true green somewhere deeper and she peered into it intensely, feeling as if she was to be shown her irrevocable fate there.

Arielle looked at her in a complete lack of comprehension. She had seen things in her life, but never such senseless and utter slaughter. No one was spared, no one was safe.

"Why do things like this happen?" the bard asked, her eyebrows furrowed, her voice quiet, "Why does God allow for this?"

"God has nothing to do with it." Eden answered solemnly, shaking her head lightly, "We do it to ourselves."

"But... a benevolent God should protect... God could stop this..."

"This is the thanks we give for free will... In the end, God has little to say if no one listens." Eden replied and sighed heavily, a glimpse of compassion for the bard peering through her grim look, "There's nothing we can do here now."

Arielle said nothing, her horror still etched deep into her eyes. Eden let out a deep breath and raised herself to her feet.

"Let's get out of this forsaken place." she announced, looking down at Arielle.

The warrior extended her hand down to the bard as Arielle looked up. The horror seemed to dull at the kind gesture and a fleeting thought entered the bard's mind that even amidst the carnage they were in, the warrior's sole presence evoked a feeling of safety within her. Arielle gave a small nod, took Eden's hand, and got to her feet.

They mounted their horses and solemnly left the village to whatever fate lay before it. They rode in silence for a long while, the warrior glancing at the bard from time to time from under her brows, observing her expression. Arielle was lost in thought, turning the experience over in her mind, trying to understand the point of it, trying to see the gain in it. And then there was also the feeling of helplessness. Before, they had always somehow arrived in time to do something, influence and change events and usually for the better. But here they were too late. A human stood in the wake of another's actions and realized that there was absolutely nothing that could be done to change it. Yet, despite all of that, within all that chaos and calamity, Arielle noticed that the presence of the warrior calmed her. She somehow felt that even if she found herself in the very center of a whirlwind of war, Eden would keep her grounded, would keep her stable. _She wouldn't ever let me fall... would she?_

Eden wasn't ever one to be easy upon herself. Though she expected from others exactly what she expected from herself, she soon learned that there was no real sense in expecting much of anything at all from anyone. But her self-expectations remained unchanged. They were practically unreachable, but Eden held fast to them all the same. And so Eden saw herself in the dead Turkish warrior, released from his life with something as dishonorable as a pitchfork. She saw the same senseless bloodshed, the same meaningless existence, the same pitiful end. A great and engaging ideology could be created behind every action, annihilation in the name of something all powerful, all encompassing, eternal. Yet, deep down within, Eden wanted nothing more than a peaceful life. Even if what she did was done in the name of God, she was still the one who had to do it and live with the weight and consequences. In the whirl of battle, in the cyclone of aggression, she would kill if she had to, if there was no other choice, yet in the quiet of solitary nights, the weight of all the judgment she had passed grew sometimes too much to bear. And then there were the things she did that had nothing to do with God, their weight the most tremendous and unyielding. She simply never wanted any of this and struggled to find the larger purpose in it. A purpose would bind it all together, it would make Eden and her fate become a whole. Yet, it remained concealed from her. So she would escape with her tattered sanity to her dream of a little house somewhere amongst the trees of Europe, near the water that always seemed calmed her, amongst the animals that never did her wrong, in the peace of decisions to simply breathe and be.

When the evening finally covered them, they stopped and made camp. Eden arranged some dead logs around in a wide circle, making a fire in the center and letting the horses graze nearby. The two women moved around each other and did their tasks in silence, Eden lost in her guilt, Arielle wandering in her apprehension. They sat and ate slowly, quietly, and each almost seemed to be scared to be the one to break the silence. Arielle raised her head finally and took a breath, but then let it slowly escape when she caught sight of Eden. The warrior was staring into the fire as if it was slowly engulfing her. Arielle peered at her curiously, watching the orange flames flickering in Eden's blue eyes like a dance of fire and ice. The bard thought that if she gazed closely and intensely enough, she could see the dark clouds of the guardian's past racing across her eyes, troubling her deeply, continuing to leave havoc behind. The bard took out her bedroll, placed it on the ground, took off her armor, and lay down to sleep.

"I'll take a look around." Eden said shortly, getting up and walking off outside of the fire's glow.

Eden returned some time later, thinking the bard asleep and sat back down on the log, taking off her armor down to her gambeson. But she made no move to lie down, knowing that she wouldn't sleep. Instead, she stuck her sword into the ground in front of her and leaned against it. She was tired, but her mind was racing, running circles around the raided village that they had seen. Eden could easily see that there was nothing there to take nor was there any good reason for any kind of retaliation. It was simply bloodlust, the power in taking what others couldn't defend, the senseless logic of war, all fed by an unquenchable hate. Eden knew it all too well. _What makes me any different from that Saracen?... Nothing..._

Arielle had been silently observing the warrior that entire time. Her sturdy frame looked suddenly feeble and fragile. Her shoulders slumped, her hands wrapped around the hilt of her upright sword, propped up on it. She was known as the terror of the desert, but now she looked like a feather falling on her shoulders would break her back. Arielle sighed, got up, and walked over to the warrior.

"It's late." the bard said simply and quietly.

"I know. Go back to sleep." Eden replied gently.

Instead, Arielle braved a decision she suddenly made and sat beside the warrior on the log.

"You're not like them." the bard said after some silence.

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do."

Eden snorted lightly and shook her head.

"Eden," Arielle began, turning towards the warrior, "you... might have been. But no matter what you did in the past, you decided to change, you decided to become someone better than you were. And that's what you have to always remember."

"I don't know if I'm any better." Eden said doubtfully.

"Well, you haven't slit my throat, cut out my tongue, or left me in the desert yet." the bard replied with a little grin and a compassionate twinkle in her eye.

Eden turned to look at her and a sudden, curious hurt appeared in her eyes. She saw a light ray of faith beaming from the young bard; faith in her. And although Eden was almost convinced that all that faith was ridiculously misplaced, she accepted it for that moment.

"I'm sorry for all those things I said to you." Eden confessed abruptly, slightly surprising them both.

"It's alright." Arielle replied after a few moments with a small smile, "I know that you didn't really mean them."

Eden gave a slight, shy smile and ducked her head, unable to receive the warm words nor understand the bard's belief in her. The fire crackled lightly, making shadows dance across the faces of the two women.

"I think that everyday that you chose to be better just turns that choice more into a conviction until one day, you won't even have to think about it anymore. You're not an evil person, Eden..."

Eden said nothing, turning her gaze back to the campfire. In this little span of time and space, she felt something massive jolt. She felt and heard the gears of the world begin to creak and groan as they began to turn in a different direction and the weightlessness of everything that could not be seen begin to shift. She lifted her eyes up into the sky as if someone had just called her name. And with a long, drawn out breath, almost as if she had picked an answer out of the heavens, Eden eyes floated back down to the fire and let the flames dance within them again.

"There was a time I was just like them." Eden admitted quietly.

Arielle said nothing, but held her face turned towards the warrior, somehow knowing that there was something profound in what Eden was now saying.

"There was a time when I just wandered the sands like an abandoned sandstorm. I was... empty... forsaken... Then I joined Karas... He was the only one who was as mad and wild as I was... He quickly saw my abilities... He called me his 'death angel'..."

Eden's gaze fell to the ground beneath her and she laced her fingers together around her sword while shaking her head and Arielle could see a growing tension in her.

"One day I took a poisoned arrow in the shoulder," she continued, "I became very sick... I had strange visions... and even after I got better, I couldn't erase the images from my mind..."

"What did you see?" Arielle finally asked gently.

"Parts of things... Flashes of light, swords, dark forests, sands, wings, crosses and clouds... I can even remember hearing low trumpets and ringing bells. They formed no whole picture... they troubled me. After that I grew more distant and less battle hungry... I kept to myself... Karas began to grow frustrated... and he wanted to go to Antioch, to see... someone; he wanted his war machine back... I had a completely different plan in mind..." Eden recalled, her voice growing quiet at the end.

Arielle drew in a breath as the warrior's voice dissipated. Eden sighed and flicked one hand up in the air and let it drop heavily.

"I was so... angry and... lost. I wanted to lash out, to have my revenge for... everything... And I wanted to punish myself... for all I did... for all that I didn't do..." Eden admitted quietly, her words coming stumbling out in tribulation, "But, in the end, it just never stopped. The rivers of blood, the waves of screams, the mountains of gold... and I just felt even more empty... and I hated myself more for it..."

Arielle took a chance to express what she felt without any words. She gently placed her hand on the warrior's shoulder and was pleased when Eden didn't flinch or push her away. The bard felt a strange significance in that gesture. Where she thought the warrior would brush her off like an annoying fly, Eden's shoulders instead seemed to slump under the weight of the bard's hand. And Eden noticed the same thing too, but it was a pleasant pressure. The load was gentle, almost like a feather resting on her shoulder, yet it also seemed to have the strength to crush her armor, crumpling it up like a little ball of paper with the greatest of ease.

"What is done is done." Arielle stated, "All that matters now is that you never go back there. Never become that desert shadow again."

"I can never be just good... be full of light... like you..." Eden replied, whispering the last words.

"No one is full of only light... but that doesn't mean that you have to be full of dark either. You can control it... balance it."

"But there can always be something that will upset the balance..." Eden mentioned absently.

"I think that remains your choice... Eden, you've changed just from the day that I first saw you. And there is still so much ahead of you. Just think of the person you can still become..." Arielle said adamantly and then her voice dropped and grew hesitant, "If I could choose, I would never want to see that black marauder again... I like the warrior better..."

Eden quickly glanced at her and saw the bard smiling gently at her, full of hope and faith, though Eden had no idea where it came from. A small, honest smile crept over Eden lips, a smile that hadn't appeared there for so long that its sudden appearance shocked the warrior and she abruptly turned and hung her head. And then a wave of emotion began to surge over her as she realized that the smile came from the fact that for the first time in too long of a time, someone was being nice to her and seemed to genuinely and simply like her. Arielle wasn't sitting next to her because she had been ordered to, or was scared, or wanted something. The bard was there for Eden and the warrior couldn't remember the last time someone had done something for her without wanting something, usually much more valuable, in return. Selflessness was something so rare that Eden often caught herself wondering if it even existed at all. And it was such an elemental thing in all that she was taught and all she knew deep down inside her. Yet, it was so inexplicably hard to find beyond all the books, prayers, and preaching that praised it. And now, in the middle of the night, in the Levant, with the sand beneath her and the stars overhead, she had seen it and she was in awe.

"Go on and sleep," Eden mumbled gently, feeling slightly hesitant, "I'm sure you're tired; it's late."

"Well," Arielle answered, after some thought and with an amused look on her face, "I think I like it over here better."

Eden began to fidget, propping her elbows on her knees and hiding her face in her hands, taking a deep breath and blowing it out hard. It made no sense to her. Why now? Why the bard? They'll reach Jerusalem and it'll all be over. Eden didn't know whether to be happy she had found a friend or to be angry that it was given to her only to shortly be taken away. It seemed like such a cruel trick to her. Arielle saw her agitation and although she couldn't understand fully what brought it on, she wondered if she could calm it. She wanted to calm it. She drew in a slightly shaky breath and cautiously slid her hand around the warrior's shoulders. Eden fidgeted under her arm, but not in a way that told the bard to draw back.

They stayed like that for a while, neither knowing what to do next. The bard looked at Eden who was continually staring at the ground and smiled. She rested her chin on the guardian's shoulder and felt Eden's muscles tense abruptly and then slowly relax again.

"So..." Arielle said quietly, half confident and half scared witless, "can you walk through walls?"

Eden let out a loud snort and chuckled, the bard laughed, and the tension immediately disappeared.


	15. Chapter 15

"How much trouble can one person get into?" Eden muttered to herself unhappily, sitting huddled next to Arielle under the waxed canvas as the rain poured relentlessly around them.

"I'm sorry... I was just... It was... I..." Arielle stuttered and then her voice trailed off when she could find no reasonable explanation.

Earlier during the day, when Eden had mentioned something about stopping and eating, but that their supplies were running a little low, Arielle was absolutely set on the idea of hunting something. To Eden's surprise, the bard had decided on fowl hunting since there were so many birds in the area. Secretly, Arielle had wanted to get her own revenge over Eden and show her that she could pluck birds out of the sky with the same ease Eden plucked fish out of the water. The sky had been growing more and more menacing as time dragged on and Eden didn't like it. She tried to hurry the bard along, but Arielle told her to remain patient. The bard managed to shoot down two birds with relative ease and grinned proudly as the warrior acknowledged the achievement quietly. When Eden mentioned that maybe Arielle should get the birds before the jackals that were also around did, the blond shot off into the forested hills. And then she got lost. Eden found her some time later, an impatient scowl on her face, but it was more at the weather than at the breathless bard. Dark clouds had already completely overtaken them and rain began to fall lazily as they made their way out of the hills and back onto the road.

Eden had a faint hope that the storm would die out quickly, but it seemed set on proving her wrong. The guardian suggested several times that they should perhaps stop and wait out the storm, but Arielle would say that she had a good feeling about it, that there was no sense in waiting it out, it would be over soon. That way they ended up spending two hours in the pouring rain, pulling their unconvinced horses behind them, their feet ankle deep in mud. A wind kicked up to add insult to injury, driving the rain into their faces with stinging accuracy and making them very aware of being cold and wet. Eden finally had had enough and having noticed an outcropping in the hills that formed a kind of hood, she turned them all toward it. It was long and deep enough for the horses to find some relief from the weather. Unfortunately, the slanted rain reached the women and Eden took out her waxed canvas, deciding that wet clothes that were inside could dry while wet people could get sick. The two women huddled underneath it both due to lack of space and a feeble attempt to keep warm. Eden was used to extreme conditions and though she was just as wet and cold as the bard, she focused her thoughts on other things. Arielle, on the other hand, sat there pretending she wasn't shaking, yet the rattling of the canvas giving her away. There was no use in changing, their new clothes would quickly get wet and getting a fire going was next to impossible. Eden took off her metal armor and shifted closer to the blond, hoping some of her body heat would reach her. Arielle looked across at her and saw the guardian's sour expression.

"What is it?" the bard asked, trying to force her teeth to stop chattering, "Except for the fact that we practically drowned in the rain because I absolutely had to play Artemis?"

The warrior didn't respond to the try at humor and it made Arielle a little nervous. It meant that the situation was serious, or that the warrior was angry, or both.

"I'm trying to find a way to get us warm." Eden mumbled.

"That's alright," Arielle replied, giving a try at nonchalance, "I've been cold for the last two hours. I can hardly notice it now."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Eden asked with a light bitterness.

"Well, I... I didn't want you to think I was weak or complaining." the bard blurted out.

A short silence fell between them as Eden's eyebrows furrowed over a solemn thought.

"I'm sorry..." Arielle said quietly, "That sounded like you're to blame for this."

"Aren't I?" the guardian replied shortly.

"No. I could have said something about it, but I chose not to."

"Because of me."

"Eden," Arielle sighed lightly, "it's not your fault. I should have said something."

"And I could have noticed." the warrior replied sulkily.

"My goodness," the bard exclaimed in light exasperation, "you can't have eyes around your head and also inside of mine."

"I should have just known better."

"Eden, I'm not a child!"

Eden gave the bard a look that told her that she wasn't a warrior either.

"Listen, I'll probably just have a cold. I'll be a little sick and then I'll be well again. I have a tendency towards colds; I know what they're like."

Eden shot her a look of stern concern.

"Eden, please, stop worrying! I can take care of myself."

"I can see that." the warrior muttered and Arielle exhaled loudly.

"You're acting like I'm 5 years old and you're my nurse." Arielle grumbled.

"I may not be your nurse, but I am responsible for you."

"Are we really going to argue over this?" Arielle asked impatiently.

"Why not? We already are." Eden retorted in the same tone.

An edgy silence fell between them which was quickly filled by the roaring rain.

The day turned to evening and the evening was nearing night and the rain had no intention of letting the women go. They sat huddled together, pressing their backs against the rock wall, hopelessly trying to make themselves smaller. Arielle shivered and Eden willed herself not to, knowing that her shivering would only underline the predicament they were in and frighten the young bard. Eden stared hard at the rain, hating every drop of it and violently searching her mind for a solution. The waxed canvas kept the wind and water out, but they were soaked and Eden knew that staying like that too long would be the death of them both.

Arielle was startled when Eden quickly tossed the canvas aside, got up, and wrapped it tightly around the bard.

"What are you doing?" the blond asked nervously.

"We can't stay here. I'll go see if I can find something better."

"No." Arielle stammered out alarmed, grasping Eden's arm through the canvas, "It's dark... You can't see a thing in all this... You'll get lost."

"I'll be fine."

"Don't leave me." Arielle blurted out suddenly.

Eden heard the strain in the blond's voice and saw the fear in her eyes and it touched a rare soft spot in her. Yet, the urgency to get them to safety was greater.

"I'll be back soon."

Eden tore away from the bard's grip before the blond had a chance to protest or disagree. Arielle followed Eden with wide eyes, watching her quickly disappear into the rain. She pulled the canvas more tightly around herself and quietly began to wish for Eden's immediate return, suddenly feeling very alone and vulnerable. She noticed that the dark seemed darker, the rain colder, the wind more relentless, and the desert vaster and more uninviting without the guardian's presence beside her. It was such a simple yet poignant thing. And as the bard wrapped her arms around her knees and drew them in close to her chest, a strange thought entered her mind. Here in the middle of a place where no one in their right mind would want to be, Arielle probably felt as accepted as she ever had in her life. She had acted childishly, naively, and even irresponsibly, she knew that. Yet, she realized that Eden had never chastised her for it. She would sigh, roll her eyes, even lose her temper somewhat from time to time, but she never criticized or patronized her. Instead the warrior would note the things she did well and the rest she would set upon her own shoulders. It was an earth-shattering thought for the bard who had lived her entire life in the shadow of inadequacy and constant disappointment in her. Yet she swept the thought away quickly under the carpet of her fear. _I will never belong... If I make others happy enough then maybe one day I'll be happy too... Maybe..._

Arielle was torn out of her thoughts with the sudden appearance of a completely drenched warrior carrying a tired smile.

"Come on," Eden said, a little breathless, "I found something."

The bard got to her feet as Eden turned back around. It was dark now, the rain driving against them hard. Arielle wondered how Eden could see anything at all and tried to follow the barely visible warrior, slipping and sliding in the mud. A shot of fear ran down her spine that she might lose sight of her and she then instinctively reached out and grabbed Eden's hand. At first she felt an uncomfortable and surprised jerk, but as the guardian's hand realized who had grabbed it, it settled and slightly strengthened its grip. They stumbled and slid along, keeping close to the mountain, Arielle letting Eden almost pull her along. The bard noticed that they had probably reached the place Eden was talking about when the sharp rapping of the rain against the canvas finally stopped. She pulled the canvas off her head and looked around only to see a lot of darkness. She noticed the audible dripping from the warrior.

"It's a small cavern. We can make a fire, I hope. I moved the horses to somewhere more sheltered already." Eden stated.

"That's... good..." Arielle managed, not being able to think of anything better to say.

They both turned toward one another and caught each other's gaze at the same time in the very dim light. They didn't know what to say or do so they simply stayed like that and became suddenly acutely aware that they were still holding each other's hand. But their gaze didn't move. Their hands didn't let go. And something passed between them then, amongst the echoes of the water dripping off of the soaked warrior. They both noticed it. They didn't know what it was exactly or how to describe it, but they could feel it there. It moved from their eyes and their breath, settling on the other's skin, soaking in through their blood until it finally embedded itself deep in their bones. Arielle didn't know why she wasn't scared. Eden didn't know why she was.

A sudden, violent fit of shaking coming from the bard threw them back into reality and Eden broke away and wandered into the back of the cavern in search of anything that might burn. She silently thanked God when she found some quite old deadwood and brought some back to the front of the cavern and began making a fire in front of some larger rocks with such practical efficiency that the bard couldn't help but look on in admiration. Soon an orange and yellow glow filled the cavern and just the crackle of the fire made them both feel a little warmer. As soon as Eden saw the fire was well on its way, she grabbed her still rather dry cloak which she had taken out of her saddlebags earlier and held it up in front of the blond.

"Out." Eden ordered.

The bard blinked at her.

"Out of those clothes." Eden explained and then waved the cloak a little, "Put this on until they dry."

Arielle gave a small nod, but still stared at the warrior. Eden sighed and hung her head, driving her gaze into the ground, and pulled the cloak up enough to nearly hide her completely from Arielle's view. Just when Eden thought that she was going to have to raise her voice with impatience, she heard the bard starting to struggle her way out of her armor and clothes. When she felt her take the cloak away, Eden spun around quickly and walked a few paces away, trying to make Arielle feel as comfortable as possible.

"I'm finished." Arielle announced quietly.

Eden turned around slowly and saw the bard standing there, wrapped in her black cloak, holding the middle tightly so that it wouldn't open. Arielle looked so lost and helpless in that moment that the warrior thought that she might have smiled if the situation wasn't so gloomy.

"Sit down." Eden said, pointing the bard to the rocks near the fire.

The bard nodded, shuffled over carefully and sat down, leaning against the rock. Eden scurried about the cavern like the woman of the household. She lay Arielle's clothes out to dry along with her own gambeson which she finally peeled off and other things she had pulled out of their saddlebags. She scowled noticeably at the state of their food and supplies and then let out a loud sigh since nothing could be done about it now. She found a longer tunic that was the driest thing they had between them and changed into it, laying her clothes out to dry too. She took out some herbs from her pouch which was thankfully dry and put some in two cups. Eden then disappeared with their small, iron pot only to return with it full of rainwater and she set it on the fire. When it boiled, she poured the water over the herbs and handed one cup to the bard.

"Drink this. Slowly." Eden said as Arielle took the cup from her.

They sat next to each other and sipped on their tea, the rain now more of a background melody than before. When Arielle had finished her tea, she handed the cup over to Eden.

"I'm sorry that I'm just sitting here like this." she said apologetically, "I talked about taking care of myself and I simply sit here like a little child. I just can't get myself to move somehow."

"Are you still cold?" Eden asked, concern spreading across her face as she noticed that the shivering hadn't subsided.

She touched the bard's cheek lightly and her face turned stern. Arielle was warm to the touch.

"It would be better if you were inside." Eden remarked mostly to herself.

Slightly worried green eyes looked into concerned blue ones and Eden suddenly realized that she was still touching the bard, her hand now traveling over her forehead. Her hand froze. _What is going on with me? _She pulled it away and turned her head to look out at the pouring rain, debating whether to brave it in order to get Arielle to the nearest town. But the rain was too heavy, it was too dark, and Tyre was too far. She exhaled loudly.

"You wouldn't happen to be able to control the weather, now would you?" Arielle asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Sometimes it seems I'm not able to do anything at all." Eden replied, turning back to the bard with a small, yet sad smile.

"Hey... That's not true..." Arielle reassured gently, her hand unconsciously floating to the warrior's slumped shoulder, "If not for you, we would probably be underwater by now."

The green eyes turned soft as they peered into the now sad blue ones. Arielle noticed how many different shades those blue eyes could turn. Depending on the warrior's emotions, her eyes looked like ice, the ocean, sapphires, or tears. She wondered what the guardian's eyes looked like when she was happy. She would have liked to one day see her happy.

Eden hung her head, feeling pleasantly uncomfortable under the blond's gaze, put her hands on her knees, and got up while the bard's eyes followed her. She crouched near the fire and began making another round of steeped herbs.

"Drink this," Eden told Arielle, turning towards her on her heels and handing her the ready cup, "then get some sleep. We'll try to make you as warm as possible."

Arielle nodded gratefully, taking the cup and beginning to sip from it gingerly. Eden drank from her own, remaining near the fire, enjoying its heat on her uncovered, cool legs. When Arielle was finished, Eden swept over their damp things, feeling for those which were hopefully dry. She handed the bard her shirt and pants and later put on her own. Exhaustion and fever were beginning to overwhelm Arielle and she didn't really notice how they ended up on relatively soft bedding, lying on their sides beside each other and under some makeshift covers and the waxed canvas which kept out the light wind and kept in some heat.

"Thank you, Eden." Arielle said to the warrior facing her, her eyes growing heavy, "I'll wake up feeling much better tomorrow, you'll see."

Eden replied with a light smile although her gut was telling her something different.

"Sleep well." the warrior murmured.

The bard fell asleep before she could answer.

Yet, Arielle slept fitfully throughout the night, tossing and turning. Eden awoke every now and again and noticed the bard's flushed cheeks and damp forehead. When Arielle would toss the covers aside, Eden would silently wrap them back around her and it went on all night. When dawn began to break, Eden awoke to a sun breaking weakly through a mostly cloudy sky. At least it had stopped raining though the clouds threatened that it could start again at any moment. But she also awoke to a feverish Arielle who had begun to develop a bad cough. Eden was worried, but didn't let it show, not wanting to scare Arielle any further than necessary. She silently decided that she didn't give a care if even Jesus and Lucifer themselves were going to have a duel right in the middle of the road, she had to get them to Tyre as soon as possible.

Eden packed their things quickly and then talked Arielle out of wearing armor and instead into putting on an extra shirt.

"But I'm going to be a little vulnerable without my armor, aren't I?" Arielle tried to argue.

"That's what you have me for, isn't it?" Eden responded, the small smile twitching in the corner of her mouth.

Arielle smiled, sighed, and gave up.

Although Eden rode them hard to Tyre, she stayed as close as possible to the bard, keeping a watchful eye on her at all times. She was slightly relieved that although her cough was getting worse, Arielle had enough strength to keep herself on her horse and maintain their pace.

They reached Tyre in the afternoon and had no time or energy to admire the city and its seemingly countless towers and massive walls colored like the surrounding sands, stretching from the main gate to the harbor on the other side that finally opened into the sea. Eden walked them both into the first tavern they encountered which thankfully turned out to be a rather reasonable one as far as the quality, people, food, and price were concerned. The tavern keeper was a bit of a different story. The two women walked up to the long, wide counter full of plates, mugs, and tall goblets. The tavern keeper was a large, burly woman with long, curly hair showering down her shoulders and with a dress that had a neckline which seemed to be meant to display her very impressive cleavage.

"Are you the keeper?" Eden asked.

"Aye." she answered gruffly, eyeing her with an immediate and evident distaste.

"I'd like a room with two beds, please." Eden announced, trying to sound as friendly as possible.

The keeper kept eyeing Eden harshly and it was already starting to get on the warrior's nerves.

"The two of you?"

"Yes."

"No more of you anywheres?" she asked suspiciously, scanning the tavern quickly.

"No... Two beds for two people. Do you have a room or not?" Eden replied, a growing impatience tainting her voice.

"Well," the keeper said hesitantly, "I might got a room."

"Good." Eden finally answered and started to move to get out some money when the keeper interrupted.

"I run a nice establishment here, see? No fighting and the like, see?"

"That's fine."

"Fine, ey? Well, I know your like, see?" the keeper drawled, leaning over the counter, her immense chest almost spilling out of her dress, "I don't tolerate no trouble, see?"

"Well, you won't get any from us." Eden answered shortly as Arielle, who was standing next to her, coughed.

"What's with that little one?" the keeper asked, jerking her thumb at Arielle.

"She's just a little sick."

"Sick, ey?"

"It's just a cold. I got caught out in the storm yesterday." Arielle added softly.

"Cold or no, I ain't liking the looks of it, see? Hows I know that you don't have a plague or such? I'm running a nice place here and I don't need no people turning up dead on me, see? Don't know where you've been and the like."

"Listen," Eden started, no longer hiding her irritation, "we're travelers so obviously we're tired, hungry, and a general mess. We wouldn't still be standing here if we weren't."

"Travelers?!" the keeper exclaimed, standing up straight and throwing her hands up in the air in amusement, "Ha, that's a good one! Now, you might fit the part, but I can see that little blond tart gets aroun-"

"Shut. Your. Mouth." Eden interrupted, growling through her clamped teeth and leaning forward, "That's my friend you're insulting."

The tavern keeper's amusement disappeared in a heartbeat. She gasped when she saw Eden's countenance turn from general disinterested annoyance to a menacing violent threat in half a breath. The blue eyes turned icy, the lean body became taut with battle readiness, and she seemed to draw all the energy from everything in the tavern and was simply waiting to unleash it with a cruel pleasure. Eden spread her arms wide over the counter, her hands gripping the edge as if she wanted to pull it up and rip it out. And truthfully, probably the only thing that kept Eden from doing just that was a hand she felt rest gently on her shoulder and a nearly silent whisper of her name.

"Look lady," Eden growled, "either you want trouble or you don't. The decision's yours."

"Didn't mean no offense or the like." the tavern keeper said quickly, "I gots a room that'll be to your liking, I'd be guessing. Just like you asked. I... I'll even throw in hot water for no charge. So there's no hard feelings and the like."

"Throw in an apology and you'll have a deal." Eden practically ordered.

"I beg your apologies, miss." the tavern keeper said to Arielle nervously.

"I took no offense. I can understand that you have to maintain the quality of your establishment." Arielle answered sympathetically, giving a small smile.

Eden almost snorted in disbelief and the tavern keeper gave the bard a little look of relief.

"I've been running this... establishment since my husband's passing, bless that poor bastard's soul. Ain't easy for a woman around these parts. Get all sorts around here, noble folks and shifty bastards. Got to keep a handle on things, see? Makes a woman mighty suspicious of everything, see?" the tavern keeper explained.

Arielle gave her a smile and nodded with understanding which got a smile from the keeper in return, revealing a couple back teeth missing.

"Here's your key. Up the stairs, to the right, at the end. Ain't no enemies in this tavern, see? You need anything little one, you just say Berta says it gots to be done." Berta said anxiously and handed the key to Arielle.

"Thank you very much, Berta. You're very kind." the bard responded and the two women turned to go to their room.

Eden gave the keeper an extra glare for good measure and saw her shrink away a little. In the middle of the rather long flight of stairs, another fit of coughing took Arielle and the warrior wrapped her arm around the bard's waist so she wouldn't lose her balance. The more frequent and more severe coughs were beginning to worry Eden, she had never seen a cold develop so fast. She stole a glance at the bard and noticed that she was growing warmer as she was getting paler.

"Come on now," Eden gently encouraged, supporting the blond and helping her up the rest of the stairs, "we're almost there."

When they reached the room and Eden had shut the door behind them, their exhaustion suddenly caught up with them and they both simultaneously slumped onto the same bed. Eden was relieved when she felt that the room was warm and dry. Both women felt their eyes drifting closed.

"Eden?" Arielle whispered, her eyes closed.

"What is it?" Eden replied, her eyes flying open as she sat up and turned to the side, hovering over Arielle.

"Must everyone keep calling me 'little one'?" the bard asked with a slight exasperation that made Eden chuckle a little.

"Well, what do you want to be called?"

"How do people usually address you?"

"Well... most people are usually too scared to address me at all."

"Oh." Arielle said, a little disappointed, but realizing that it was probably true, "Perhaps just remind me that after I get better, my next task is to grow."

Eden gave her a warm smile that the bard didn't see. She got up and began to shift the bard in the bed.

"Alright then... giant one, time for some rest." Eden said, pulling the bard's boots off and the covers over her.

"Rest?" Arielle protested half-heartedly, "It's the middle of the day."

Eden raised a brow and Arielle opened her mouth, but then decided it was useless and closed it. Eden got up and was deciding on what to do next when Arielle interrupted her thoughts.

"You rest too." she murmured.

This time the warrior opened her mouth to protest, but then decided that it wasn't such a bad idea. She was really exhausted and the supplies they needed could be bought later. The warrior walked over to her bed, pulled off her boots, wandered under the covers, and almost immediately fell asleep.

Eden awoke a couple of hours later and saw that the bard was still sleeping. She quietly slipped on her boots and went downstairs to get them something to eat. Berta served the warrior some hearty stew, constantly keeping a guarded eye on Eden which the younger woman tried to ignore. She ate at one of the empty tables, grateful for the relative peace. When she had finished, she ordered some hot broth with vegetables for Arielle and took it back to their room. She opened the door as quietly as possible, feeling the heat of the stew through the trencher in her hand. Open green eyes were waiting for her.

"Where did you go?" Arielle asked gently as Eden shut the door.

"I got you some soup."

"Oh." she remarked somewhat shyly, not wanting to admit that she began to grow frightened when she awoke to a room with a missing guardian, "Thank you."

They stayed in the room for the rest of day. Eden did everything to let Arielle rest as much as possible, either dozing herself or doing other quiet tasks. She took a mental inventory of what they had, what they needed, and what the rain had ruined. She threw out the food that had gone bad and decided that she would need to get more herbs for the bard. In the light of the falling dusk and a single candle she lit upon the table, Eden took out her leather bound journal, a quill and a small ink well from deep within her saddlebag. She was absorbed in writing, the light from the candle quietly flickering, the quill scratching the paper gently.

"I didn't know you keep a journal." Arielle whispered in a rasp, her eyes open again, gazing at Eden from across the room as the warrior shrugged.

"One of my many skills." Eden bantered lightly.

"What do you write down?"

"My thoughts, things that happened... those kind of things."

"So do I."

"I'm sure that your writings are more worthy of paper than mine. You're the bard after all."

"Somehow I doubt that."

They exchanged a smile before Arielle drifted off to sleep again. Eden watched her for a few moments and felt a strange sense of peace begin to spread within her. When she realized it, she shook her head, clearing herself of that feeling. It wasn't for her. It could get her killed.

Arielle slept better than the previous night, but now it actually worried the warrior. Arielle was having a harder and harder time keeping awake and her sleep was growing gradually deeper. Eden awoke a few times during the night and checked on Arielle. The fever didn't want to break, but she took feeble comfort in the fact that it wasn't rising either.

The next day, Eden spent the morning getting breakfast for the bard, making her herbal infusions, and racking her brains for anything she might have overlooked or forgotten that might help her friend. Arielle's overall condition saw no change, but the cough was getting progressively worse and Eden could begin to hear a rattling in the bard's breathing. The guardian decided to leave the blond alone for a short while, while she went to the market to get some necessary things. An apothecary was nearby the market and Eden walked in to ask for his advice. He finally shared his medical knowledge after Eden practically threatened to skin him alive with a dagger. Unfortunately, he didn't tell her anything she didn't already know. The guardian trudged back to the tavern with all of her packets, sacks, and bundles of things.

Arielle looked over at Eden as the warrior walked into their room laden with what seemed to be half the market.

"I'm sure you got an earful from Berta when she saw you." Arielle commented weakly.

"Oh no." Eden replied, a mischievous twinkle in her eye, "She seemed to be quite at a loss for arguments today."

"You gave her one of those looks of yours again, didn't you?"

"A look?" Eden answered in feigned innocence.

"Yeah, I thought so." Arielle sighed with a smile as Eden turned to put the bundles on the table, "Then again, I think you scared her enough for the rest of the year yesterday."

Eden simply shrugged. For her it had been a strange, but immediate reflex. She didn't want to cause trouble or commotion, but the tavern keeper had pushed too hard and crossed the line when she offended Arielle. The warrior's response was just a reaction. For Eden, protecting the bard didn't mean just saving her from demons and raiders, but from everything, even in the smallest and seemingly most harmless form. The fact that Arielle was sick only made her more protective. People could say whatever they wanted about her, she was used to it. But no one was going to be unfair or judgmental towards the bard. Eden turned and met Arielle's warm gaze. _No one._

Arielle wanted to jump out of bed and hug the uneasy guardian as she recalled the last evening's exchange. There was a part of her that secretly adored the protective guardian. It made her feel a safety and security she noticed that she had never felt before. And until now, she also hadn't noticed how much she needed it. The bard needed the sense of some kind of attachment, some kind of belonging. A smile crossed her face at the thought and the guardian's gaze met hers. Arielle admitted to herself that no one had ever stood up for her like that and it made her feel special. _No one_.

"Thank you for defending my good name yesterday." Arielle managed to say playfully before she was taken by another fit of coughing.

Eden frowned, leaving the bundles in disarray on the table and walking over to Arielle.

"How are you feeling?" the warrior asked, placing the back of her hand to the bard's forehead and feeling the constant uneasy heat.

"Warm and tired." Arielle answered simply, "A good enough excuse for one of your famous teas?"

"You don't need an excuse." she answered with a light smile, getting up to make her another herbal infusion.

As the day passed into evening, Arielle's state deteriorated. Her temperature kept rising and nothing Eden did seemed to help and the warrior began to grow more and more concerned though she kept it well hidden. She thought of calling over a barber or physician, but knew full well that they would have given the blond the same things she had and calling for a priest was simply out of the question. She sat on the edge of the bed, next the feverish bard, giving her tea, cooling her face and forehead, trying to get her to eat. In the midst of it all, somewhere completely unnoticed, the bard's hand somehow slipped into the warrior's and took refuge there.

When evening turned to night, Arielle began to toss and turn and mumble incoherently in her fever, seeing things that didn't exist, talking to people who weren't there.

"Ssh, quiet now. Get some rest." Eden soothed, her stomach tying itself into about a hundred knots of desperation.

"I want... I want you to... do something for me..." Arielle said weakly, forcing out words in between deep, raspy breaths during a moment of clarity, "I don't... I don't want to... be buried here... Take me home... Please..."

"Hush. Of course you're not going to be buried here because you're still going to live for years, far past me even. You have so many things to still see and do. Concentrate on getting well now." Eden countered, her heart beginning to race anxiously.

"Eden... I'm scared... I'm so scared..." Arielle whispered, her voice breaking.

Eden saw a tear escape the bard's eye and trickle down the side of her face and she felt something inside her snap so hard that it sent a clap of thunder through her brain and caused her to take a deep breath. And a warrior spirit appeared within her, but a different kind than the one she had known for so long. It wasn't made of anger or violence. This warrior was protective and undeterred. This warrior spread her wings and wrapped them around Arielle to keep her safe and had shield and sword drawn to fend off any potential harm. This warrior would fight anything and everything, from demon to angel, from seen to unseen, protecting the bard with everything it had. This warrior belonged to Arielle.

"Don't be scared." Eden whispered with a strain in her voice, gently stroking the bard's cheek and looking straight into her emerald eyes, "I'm right here. I'm right here beside you so there's nothing you need to be frightened of."

Although her eyes cried, each letting a single tear fall, Arielle smiled widely because she believed Eden. Eden read something in those shimmering eyes, a gentle, very shy, but genuine plea and need. She got up, took off her gambeson and boots and carefully climbed into Arielle's bed, slipping in behind her. She propped herself up as comfortably as she could against the bed frame and then pulled the bard up towards her. She wrapped one arm around the blond's waist while the other either slowly brushed away the blond's damp hair from her forehead or ran a soaked, cold cloth over her flushed face and neck.

"I can hear... your heartbeat..." the bard whispered calmly, her head resting on the warrior's chest and she let out a content sigh.

Eden willed her heart with all her might to not betray the true terror she felt. She knew that Arielle was now beyond any help that the warrior could give her and that it was all up to her whether she would see the next sunrise. The thought that the blond wouldn't see it almost made Eden's heart race beyond its limits.

"Sleep now, young bard," Eden soothed, running her fingers through the blond's hair, "I've got you. I'll keep watch. You rest."

"Watching me... like a hawk... " Arielle said, her eyes closing, resting her arm on the warrior's arm that was protectively keeping her from death's cold grasp, their fingers unconsciously slightly intertwining.

"Always." Eden whispered into the bard's hair, determined to have the young woman stay.

And for the first time since she could remember, Eden began to pray for a life. She said all the prayers she knew, made up new ones, and towards the middle of night was begging, pleading, demanding, and threatening every heavenly being she could think of for the blond's recovery. Arielle opened her eyes suddenly for a moment and looked up at Eden and the warrior could see that the bard already had one foot in a different world far beyond them.

"You... I saw you in clouds and stars..." she whispered barely audibly, gazing in feverish wonder, "I wished for you... You came back for me... My knight... My guardian angel..."

And as suddenly as her eyes opened, they now closed, her body falling limp in the grasp of a deep, unconscious sleep.

Eden wanted to scream. Her agony and desperation ran around in circles inside her, finding no release. She tightened her hold on the bard and began to rock her gently. She furiously wished her strength and health to seep through her hands and into Arielle and she locked their fingers together, folding the bard's head under her chin. She sighed deeply and then began to pray one prayer with all her heart; that if death was to visit them that night then Eden should be taken and Arielle spared. It was better that way; it seemed the world would be a darker place without the playful blond, a much darker place. The bard's rattling breathing slowed to a point where Eden didn't know if the current one would be followed by another and she sat in painful anticipation of each.

"Don't you leave me." she whispered into the bard's ear, half a plea and half an order, "Don't you dare leave me."

A labored, ragged breath came in response.

"Please..." the warrior asked with utter abandon.

A single tear escaped the warrior's eyes as she counted breaths throughout the night.

Much later, Eden's eyes had finally decided to overthrow her and closed themselves. Yet, her mind was alert, her whole body ready to react to anything if need be. She was in a strange state of being both awake and at rest, a skill she had perfected during her time as a desert bandit. With the barely rising sun, she felt a warmth on her cheek, a shift in pressure on her chest and she opened her eyes and looked down.

She saw Arielle, her hand lightly pressed to Eden's cheek, looking up at her, with tired but glimmering green eyes and Eden swore that she had never before seen as beautiful a green as she did at that moment. The warrior's heart swelled with the tentative hope that the worst had passed, that this wasn't a cruel dream, that Arielle was going to be fine and it almost choked the unaccustomed woman. They just gazed at each other, Arielle caressing Eden's cheek lightly with her thumb, Eden holding her protectively in her arms, both too tired, hopeful, and content to say anything that might shatter that moment of delicate calm.

Once Eden's mind furiously began to register that it was a new day, and more importantly, the cheerful bard was still with her and that the danger that had teased her heartlessly all night was gone, she began to feel self-conscious. She carefully began to unwrap her arms from around the blond, thinking their protection no longer needed.

"No." the bard in a hushed yet decisive plea, her eyes burning pleasant holes into the warrior's soul.

Eden stopped and then returned her arms to where the bard wanted them. Arielle gave her a faint smile and then rested her head on Eden's chest, sliding her hand down beside, closed her eyes, and fell asleep with a sigh. The moment was so fragile, so quiet and calm, that Eden thought her heart might explode from it. She smiled down at the sleeping blond.

"Never one to rise with the sun, hm?" she whispered into her hair.

Eden was desperately trying to keep everything normal, detached, superficial in her mind. Yet, it was completely useless. Her heart pounded and her soul ached in a pleasant excruciation that the warrior had never experienced before. She wanted to yell in victory and hold the bard so tightly that she probably would have crushed her. She instead used all that power to keep herself calm and focused, continually observing Arielle closely for any changes. After some time, when that intensity of feeling finally began to subside under the warrior's stubborn will, Eden closed her eyes and decided to join Arielle in slumber.

* * *

That tall, powerful frame again. Those dark green wings.

"You've kept your promise, Eden. You've done well." she said, a faint smile on her face.

"I keep my word."

"You do." the angel agreed and then slightly knotted her brows in a serious change, "Protect her always. Whether she is ill, angry with you, or even gone, always protect her. With everything you are and from everything there is."

Eden looked at the dark haired angel with a perplexed curiosity. The angel simply smiled faintly again, hung her head, and turned to leave.

"Who are you?" Eden asked.

The angel stopped and turned her head.

"I'm your guardian angel, guardian."

"Then you must have a name as each guardian's angel does."

The angel gave a faint nod, turned back, and walked away without saying another word.

* * *

Eden opened her eyes and saw that the sun had already risen to a fuller morning, the rays spilling through the window and resting on the sleeping bard. She watched Arielle's chest move up and down, breathing regularly, the labor growing a little lighter. She gently took one hand and felt the bard's forehead- it was finally cooler.

Arielle's eyes fluttered open to the touch and she took a few moments to remind herself of where she was and what was happening and then looked up at Eden.

"Did I wake you?" Eden asked with a little regret.

"No..." Arielle answered quietly.

"Your fever is going down." Eden said, gently brushing the hair off the bard's forehead, "How are you feeling?"

"Like I just finished plowing 12 leagues of seabed with only one breath." she answered in a whisper and a faint smile and getting a slightly strained chuckle from Eden, "A good enough excuse for one of your famous teas?"

Eden smiled faintly, struggling with a lump rising in her throat and threatening to make its way to the surface. She started to move to get up, but Arielle clutched the front of her shirt with her fist and Eden stopped.

"Did you watch over me all night?" Arielle asked in a somber tone, but Eden's eyes and face betrayed the answer, "Thank you..."

Afraid her heart might actually break, Eden gave the bard a gentle squeeze, carefully untangled herself, and went out under the pretense to get something from downstairs. She almost ran towards the stairs hurriedly and stopped right at the top of them, pressing her forehead and hands against the wall. She gritted her teeth, breathing hard and irregularly through them and squeezed her eyes shut, determined not to let a tear fall. The tension of the terrifying night was finally beginning to lift off of her and the diminishing iron grip of her terror was now letting her muscles shake and heart tremble. She stood there, fighting for control of herself when all she really wanted was to fall to pieces and lie there broken for a little while, giving herself time to let the shock and fear reverberate through her bones and finally sink down into the floor. Yet she forced herself to take several deep breaths, determined not to lose control over herself. _Calm down. Focus. If anything, I need to be there for her now. _She began to regain her composure, moved away from the wall and smoothed her tunic absently several times before turning on her heel and walking back into the room. Thankfully, the bard had dozed off and didn't notice that Eden had returned empty handed.


	16. Chapter 16

Arielle was bedridden for the next several days. She would simply float between sleeping, coughing, having quiet conversations with Eden and eating. And whatever the bard didn't have the strength to do, the guardian would do it for her. It was when she dropped her spoon into the trencher with a loud sigh and watched Eden take it from her and spoon-feed her the rest, that Arielle noticed a new side that the warrior tried to keep as well hidden as possible. Eden was gentle. The bard marveled over how an otherwise short-tempered and undoubtedly potentially violent woman could be so delicate and patient. Eden didn't complain or lose her temper, she didn't raise her voice or speak coldly. It was so different than what the warrior usually kept on display, yet it fit her so well.

And there was another thing that Arielle noticed- a need to be close. There was something nearly magnetic in Eden, drawing Arielle ever nearer and making her want to stay there. Night or day, sickness or health, safety or harm, Eden always seemed to be there. The bard knew that she had slipped far down into some place outside of consciousness in her sickness; she remembered feeling cold, exhausted, and scared. Yet she was also vaguely aware of a pulsating warmth that enveloped her and never left her. She didn't know what it was, but she approached it cautiously and then embraced it trustingly and let it warm her and bring her slowly back. It seemed to her that the deepest fears and greatest dreams locked far down within her outstretched their arms towards Eden, wanting her to pick them up and tell them it was all going to be fine and there was nothing to be afraid of. There was something beautiful and frightening in it at the same time. It was a wonderful feeling to feel so protected, so cared for. Yet she didn't know why it came from Eden and whether the unpredictable and mysterious woman was a good choice for a friend. There was something that emanated from the guardian, a light that Arielle seemed to see quite clearly. Yet no one else saw it. No one else even believed in it. _Perhaps I'm just lonely or homesick? Perhaps it's because she seems so exotic and excitingly foreign? Perhaps. Yet... _Yet each night, Arielle found herself lacking the warrior's presence near her again- the strange fusion of violence and distrust that transformed into security and care when it came into contact with the young bard. Arielle's soul called out to Eden across the dark with words she simply would probably never have the courage to say.

Eden was stoic on the surface, but underneath a fierce struggle was taking place. She felt the same strange magnetism. She watched what had started out as a thin thread of humanity begin to braid itself into a thicker and stronger cord of friendship that connected them more firmly and pulled them ever closer. The warrior felt the warmth, the goodness, the light and solace of that cord, but she saw the danger there too. Too many times, that cord had ended up either coiling around her neck in a noose or breaking when she was hanging onto it for dear life. Yet there was a nagging sensation and persistent notion that this cord was different. It felt different, it formed differently and acted differently. But the warrior didn't want to risk it. _I wouldn't survive it again..._

And there, outside of the thoughts and fears of both the warrior and bard, that connection had plans of its own.

"Here." Eden said shortly, walking over to Arielle and putting a small something into her palm.

The blond opened her hand to reveal a small, wooden, carved angel. The angel's wings were folded, its head slightly bowed, and its hands brought together in prayer. The details were scant, the carving was a rather rough one, but there was something in the simplicity and rawness of it that touched the bard. She turned it around in her hands over and over and the warrior began to think that she didn't like it at all.

"I just thought it might make you feel better since you're stuck here... It's silly, it's alright if you don't like it... It's just-"

"No, I like it a lot!" Arielle protested, turning her gaze to Eden and the warrior saw the appreciation in her forest green eyes, "Thank you... for thinking of me..."

The guardian shrugged weakly, feeling her heart begin to pick up its pace and got up to make some tea before Arielle could do or say anything more. The blond returned her gaze to the tiny angel, smiling at it and stroking its wings absently, something that Eden watched from the corner of her eye with content.

* * *

Eden opened the door to their room to find an awake bard half-sitting in the bed with a scowl on her face. The guardian put the packet of herbs she bought on the table and turned toward Arielle who was having a small fit of coughing.

"Is anything wrong?" Eden asked, noticing the blond's dour mood, "Are you feeling worse?"

"I hate being cooped up in here all the time." Arielle complained innocently, "I don't really mind lying around all day, but this ceiling is beginning to drive me mad. If I could at least see the sky, the clouds..."

Eden understood. She herself had a hard time not going stir crazy, but she at least could go out to the market and sometimes snuck in some quick sword training while the blond was sleeping. Arielle's mood recovered much faster than her body did and it took a lot of effort and even more patience to keep the bard in bed resting and not wandering around trying to find something to do. Yet, Eden's tension faded and she became more and more relieved as with each day the color came back to Arielle's skin and the coughs became fewer and far between.

Arielle let out a rough sigh and tossed her hands up into the air and let them fall with a muffled thud onto her covers. Eden, who was now sitting on the edge of the bard's bed, gazed at her sympathetically. And then a thought struck her. Arielle saw a mischievous twinkle appear in the warrior's eye and she scrunched up her nose in pleasant suspicion. Yet, before she could ask what Eden was up to, she found herself being picked up along with her blanket in the strong arms of the guardian.

"What are you doing?!" she cried in surprise.

"Changing the ceiling."

"But it's late, it's dark, I'm heavy, you can't carry me!" the bard listed.

"I know, good, no you're not, yes I can."

"You're insane!" Arielle noted, secretly loving every moment.

"That we both know." Eden answered with a somewhat smug look on her face, "I can put you down if you want."

Arielle debated whether to let her secret happiness become known until she saw an awkward uncertainty begin to shade the guardian's face.

"Well," Arielle replied, her voice dropping to a whisper, "since you already seem to be on your way..."

Eden smiled shyly and pulled the bard a little closer to her chest.

"Put your arms around my neck," Eden said in a low voice and then quickly added, "if you want."

"Let's go." Arielle said simply.

Eden nodded once and moved towards the door when she felt the bard gently wrap her arms around the guardian's neck. Eden was suddenly overcome with a wave of serene warmth as if she was just covered by a padded wave of the sea. Her heart pounded strongly yet calmly and despite the extra weight of the bard, she almost floated down the stairs and out onto the streets of Tyre. They weaved in and out of the dark streets, alleys, and quarters and made their way to the port. The port wasn't that large, just as Tyre itself wasn't large, functioning more as a bastion than a city. It reminded Arielle a little of Eden, seemingly minimal, yet secretly formidable.

Eden found a spot where a few stone steps led down to the water and she placed the bard gently down and then sat down beside her. It was the middle of the night; it was quiet with no one around and the night air was crisp, the night sky clear and full of sparkling stars.

"Are you cold?" Eden asked, seeing the bard pulling her blanket tighter around herself.

"No... It's beautiful here. Thank you." Arielle replied softly.

Eden smiled lightly, a little proud of herself. She noticed then that when the bard was happy, she also felt better. And when the bard was sad, Eden felt miserable. It was a curious thing for her to see the state of one person have such a direct influence over another. It was even more curious that that other person was her. The warm feeling inside her grew when she saw the bard smiling out into the horizon.

"So... maybe you can walk on water?" Arielle asked suddenly, in a playful tone.

"Of course not!" Eden replied in playful exasperation.

"You know, I'm beginning to think that your being a guardian has no advantages."

Eden let out a small chuckle and Arielle turned and looked at her with a grin.

"Well, I do... know things." Eden noted.

"Know things?"

"Yes. It's a little like an extra sense. I just seem to sometimes know that something is serious or wrong, out of place, might end badly... They can be things far from me, forward in time..." Eden explained, looking out over the port.

"Fascinating! That must be wonderful to be able to somehow see something that will happen. I'm sure people just flood over to you asking you for your advice."

"Actually, they don't." Eden replied simply as the bard gave her a confused look, "Most people don't like being told that they're headed for trouble. They want to find out for themselves... My words often fall on deaf ears..."

"Really? That's interesting... So give me an example of when you knew something. Perhaps something you knew and I didn't."

Eden searched her mind and the bard noticed the playfulness suddenly slip from the guardian's face. Arielle knotted her brows, confused over the sudden change in mood of the warrior. After a few moments, her brows relaxed in sudden understanding and she wanted to slap herself in the head with a catapult.

"You knew, didn't you?... When I said I would get better, you didn't say anything. You knew just how sick I really was..." Arielle whispered, gazing at the shadows on Eden's face, concealing her fright, but not her tension as the warrior nodded, "That's unbelievable..."

They both reflected on that day when the bard unknowingly teetered between life and death while Eden hung on to her with all her strength. The intensity of the emotions Eden felt then hadn't faded much for her. Her jaw clenched, her muscles grew tense, and Arielle could almost feel the power radiating off the disturbed guardian.

"You know, it was quite strange," Arielle reflected quietly, "I've never been that sick before. When it got worse... I felt like I was falling... How bad was it?"

Eden's jaw muscles flexed, the strain passing over her face and draining all the hope from her eyes.

"There was a moment... I didn't know..." she started and didn't finish because she neither knew how nor did she want to.

Arielle nodded solemnly and they sat there in the quiet for a while, the faint breeze caressing them both.

"Eden, when I felt I was falling... I also felt something warm catch me... envelope me... keeping me from falling any further..." Arielle said quietly as wonder crossed her face, "That was you, wasn't it?"

"Did you really feel something like that?" Eden asked, looking into the green eyes with a perplexed amazement.

Arielle simply nodded and they gazed at each other for a short time, neither able to fully comprehend what it all exactly meant nor how it really affected them. Yet Eden heard the gears of the world grinding slowly again. She felt that something that was out of position was trying to shift back into place.

"Eden," Arielle finally whispered, her eyes softening as she rested her hand on the guardian's forearm, "I'll owe you kingdoms and lifetimes for the rest of my days."

Eden didn't know what to say or even what to really feel so she laid back on the stones and looked up at the starry sky. Arielle looked at her with a somewhat perplexed expression.

"Do you also see a hawk?" Eden asked, pointing up towards the stars and turning to the bard with a warm smile.

"Oh!..." Arielle said in surprise, lying down on her back beside the guardian, who drew out the shape for her with her finger as a smile spread across the bard's lips, "No, it's definitely an angel..."

* * *

Eden would go downstairs at least once a day when Arielle was sleeping and order herself something to eat. Berta constantly eyed her warily, but said nothing and Eden continued to ignore her. In different circumstances, the situation probably would have been comical for the warrior, who would have simply stuffed the tavern keeper up her own chimney and left, but Arielle was in no condition to be moved so Eden simply grit her teeth and bore it. That was until about the fourth day of their stay when Eden was eating alone at the table in the corner as she always did and some commotion began to stir in the middle of the tavern. Eden looked up from her meal, already irritated and saw two men, the ruffian kind that Berta despised most, quite a ways past being drunk. They were roaring with laughter, spilling their ale, knocking things over, and being generally bothersome. Berta stomped over to them impatiently and told them a thing or two and they replied with a thing or two of their own, slapping the frustrated Berta in the rear with such force that she stumbled into the next table and the men exploded in laughter. Berta gave them a scowl and returned and the same thing happened again. Eden saw a pained look in Berta's face the second time and her intension to go back a third time.

Eden abruptly got up, walked over to the table calmly, and stood in front of the troublemakers before Berta reached them. Eden said nothing and just stood there, her fingers leaning against the table.

"You want something?" one of the men said gruffly, glaring up at her with one eye.

"I was eating." Eden said in a low and very level tone.

"So?"

"You interrupted me."

"And so what's it to me? You that hungry? I can give you a mouthful, sweet thing." he jeered, reaching out to pinch her in the rear.

His hand didn't reach its target before Eden suddenly grabbed his head by his hair and slammed his face into the table, picked it back up and flung him backwards.

"Bitch!" his friend cried as he turned his startled gaze towards Eden.

He was just in time to see a back fist hurled in his direction that knocked him straight off his bench. Berta gasped at the little show. Eden then took both fellows by the backs of their tunics and dragged them bewildered to the entrance.

"Didn't your mothers ever teach you that it's impolite to interrupt a lady?" Eden snarled to the men.

The warrior flung them out of the tavern door and they landed with a big thud in the dirt, groaning.

"And I don't recommend coming back here unless you want a mouthful of your own insides." Eden threatened and slammed the door behind her.

The guardian calmly walked back to her meal, dusting her hands off.

"You're right," Eden noted when she passed a stunned Berta, "they are shifty bastards."

Later that evening, Berta knocked on their door and the bard and guardian were offered the tavern's best room, with its own fireplace because of the "damn proper thing" Eden had done. Eden would have argued, but she knew that the fireplace was a good thing for the sick blond and she thanked Berta quietly. Arielle awoke to the commotion as Eden packed and moved their things and finally came around for the bard.

"Would you be interested in a fireplace?" Eden asked, standing over and looking down at the slightly drowsy bard.

"Why? Did they start giving them away all of the sudden?" the bard quipped.

"So to speak."

"Well, you're in luck then. I happen to be very fond of fireplaces." the bard replied, a weak smile crossing her face.

"Well then," Eden said, reaching over and scooping up the bard carefully in her arms, "we should get going... oh immense one."

The bard giggled and rested her head against Eden's shoulder as the guardian carried her to their new room.

Arielle wondered over the warrior's strength. Eden wasn't a large, burly woman. Arielle remembered when she once saw a Germanic woman during some festival at home. The bard recalled thinking the woman looked like an angry, walking castle and was afraid that an encounter with her would end up with broken bones on the bard's side. Eden wasn't at all what one might expect from a warrior when Arielle thought about it; she wasn't very tall, massive, or muscular. She was a rather tall, almost half a head taller than the bard, very fit looking woman. Yet the bard had no idea were her strength really came from. Because of this, the young, lean woman was often grossly underestimated which automatically gave her a large advantage in a fight. A calm, uninterested stance would suddenly explode into a fierce mass of trouble, emanating with a strength and power of unknown origin. She imagined trying to pick up the warrior and the corner of her mouth edged up in a smile as she saw herself probably breaking her back, stumbling over, and dropping an angry warrior on the floor. Yet the corner of her mouth fell when a sobering thought came that if the roles were reversed, the blond wouldn't be able to do the same things the warrior did. She pondered over that on the way down the stairs. She glanced up for a moment, seeing the look of concentration on Eden's face, feeling the security in her arms. She moved her gaze back down and decided then that this wouldn't do. She didn't want to only constantly owe Eden. After all, in the end, dues always need to finally be paid.

When they entered the new room, Eden gave the bard a slow spin around to show it to her. The room was generally larger and everything within it was also larger. Eden had already started a fire in the fireplace and put some blankets on the floor in front of it. It was warm in the room and in Eden's arms and Arielle let out a content sigh, absently placing her hand on the warrior's chest lightly. Eden willed her heart not betray how much she noticed it.

"So," Eden began, taking a deep breath, "I figures that this here room's got your approval and the like. It needs your approval, see?"

Arielle chuckled at the imitation of Berta and Eden felt the blond nod against her shoulder. She moved her over closer to the fireplace, propping her up against the footboard of the bed. Eden made them tea and they sat next to each other, sipping quietly, enjoying the warmth of the room.

"Can I ask you something?" Arielle asked, realizing the tea had a different taste than each one before.

"Hm?"

"Where did you learn all this?" she asked, looking at Eden with interest, "I mean, where did you learn everything about these herbs and what they do and when to use which?"

"I just picked it up here and there." Eden replied with a shrug.

"Eden, it's not exactly something ladies are taught." Arielle noted.

Eden sighed. She glanced out the window. Night settled quietly outside, the fire crackled inside, and the guardian didn't feel the constricting restraints around her soul, keeping everything that meant anything bottled up tightly. There was a crack and so she let a story slip through it.

"When you fight as much as I do... and did... you have to learn. Especially if you lead an army..."

"You lead an army?!" Arielle squeaked, nearly spilling her tea.

"Well... yes." Eden replied with a slight shrug as if they were talking about something as ordinary as boiling water.

Arielle peered at the warrior with peeked interest, her eyes wide, feeling a good story about to be told when Eden took a long breath.

"During the last crusades into the Levant, Queen Eleanor of France decided to take part. She gathered around 300 of her vassals from Aquitaine. She insisted they all be women and further insisted that she go as the leader of her warriors.

"You were in Eleanor of Aquitaine's army?"

"Well, not exactly in it. She needed someone to lead the army. Maintain discipline, give orders, and so on. So I volunteered. And as I was the only woman to do so, I became commander."

"That's... amazing..."

"Not really. In the end, the army did little fighting, the incompetent Louis constantly getting in the way." Eden replied with a quiet growl, "Yet, they had their skirmishes and other... adventures and someone had to know how to put them back together. Like you said, not exactly something ladies are taught..."

Arielle tried to imagine Eden as the commander of Eleanor's army. She had heard the tales that they dressed as Amazons and fought and yelled like men. She pictured the guardian on her black steed, armor glinting in the sunlight, hair streaming in the wind, her sword upraised, letting out a battle cry and then charging the frightened enemy with hundreds of loyal warriors thundering right behind her. It was a romantic picture straight out of heroic stories of knights and dragons.

"Later, especially in the desert," Eden continued absently, "it was more because I didn't want any of my... comrades... to come anywhere near me if I could help it..."

Arielle glanced at Eden and saw a shadow pass over her face as Eden recalled the day she learned that particular lesson.

"What happened?" Arielle asked before she could stop herself.

She held her breath in anticipation of a violent reaction of a line she was sure she had overstepped. A thick, tense silence hung over them.

"My army trusted me. I held their life in my hands. It's a sacred thing almost. In return, I took care of them. I thought it was like that everywhere. But I was young..." Eden recalled slowly, as if she was weighing every word, "Once, out in the desert, I was wounded in the thigh. I needed stitches. One of the men experienced in healing said he would do it. I trusted him..."

Arielle knitted her brows as Eden's voice trailed off. The bard instinctively placed her hand on Eden's arm and felt the muscles there tense for a moment and then relax.

"Oh Eden, did he...?"

"No..." Eden whispered, shaking her head once, "but, he sure did try... I managed to fight him off. I never let anyone near my wounds again."

She hung her head a little and felt the bard give her arm a small squeeze which she rewarded with a gentle smile.

* * *

The morning came when they had decided that Arielle was well enough to travel again. Eden insisted that she have a hearty breakfast before going on the road and they made their way down to the tavern before going out on the road. They both sat at Eden's usual table and Berta greeted them warmly.

"See you're up and about again. Glad you're feeling better and the like." Berta stated, bringing them some warmed cider, bread and cheese.

"Thank you, Berta." Arielle replied cheerfully, smiling up at her, "And how are you doing?"

"Oh..." said the visibly stunned tavern keeper, "Well... ain't nobody asked me that in centuries it seems... Well, thank you, miss, I'm doing pretty fine, can't do much complaining, I figure."

They ate breakfast quietly; the tavern was rather empty at that hour in the morning. Arielle was more than happy to be going back on the road, her cheerfulness and excitement plainly visible. Eden was the more stoic one as always, throwing a hidden glance at the bard every once in a while, the memory of the cough not leaving her alone. They were too immersed in their own thoughts to notice a common, traveling pair sit down at the table next to them. Finally the words of their conversation floated over to the bard.

"I'm telling you, Rufus, I think we should take a different road."

"Ah, don't be silly, Alys. Why would you want to do that?"

"Have you gone deaf in your years? You haven't heard the stories? Lord knows you frequent the taverns enough."

"What stories are you talking about? Just come out with it, woman."

"There's a black demon in the deserts, Rufus..." the woman said in a tone of conspiracy, leaning over the table at him.

"A black demon?!" Rufus laughed, "Maybe you've been frequenting the taverns a bit too much yourself, eh?"

"Don't be silly, Rufus. I'm serious. They talk about a black demon warrior. On a horse black as night. Ruthless thing. Killing and plundering like there's no Judgment Day. They say she's on the road to Acre or Damascus. I don't want to be on the same road."

"She?! Oh, this just keeps getting better and better!"

Arielle ate her breakfast with a tighter and tighter throat. She stole glances at Eden from underneath her brows. The guardian maintained her usual stony expression, but the bard knew that the words didn't pass by her unnoticed. Eden ate a piece of bread slowly, her other hand around a goblet of cider. Arielle considered doing something as an angry heat rose in her chest. But she didn't know what.

"It's like talking to the backside of a sheep, it is. Rufus, women demons are the worst sort, everybody knows that. You never heard of Lilith? If you didn't sleep so much in church, you wouldn't be as daft as you are." Alys sighed in exasperation.

"Oh, get off it woman."

Arielle saw a strange and abrupt tension appear on Eden's face at the mention of Lilith. Eden slowly put her bread down, her eyebrows furrowing, her breath quickening a little. The bard now battled between leaning over and telling the couple to shut up or reaching over and putting her hand on Eden's in support.

"Rufus, I'm serious, I am. This one, she tears pilgrims limb from limb!"

"Pilgrims, you say?"

"You see! Even the God fearing aren't safe! They say she drinks the blood of children, you know? A tailor told me that there was a village near the road. Torched and pillaged, the people slaughtered, they were. Eyes scooped out, bodies set ablaze. That black devil did it. Singlehandedly! So tell me again how she can't be a demon, hm?"

"And you seen this?"

"Not me, Rufus. But the tailor said he did. Don't see why a proper Christian would lie to another." Alys commented and then dropped her voice in disdain, "Said he that even those Saracen infidels tried to help, but fled terrified when she turned her bloody blade on them."

"Hm, that ain't a common whore then, is it? But to take a different road, Alys?"

"By Christ's nails, you been listening at all? Now, you may be bored with this life, but I'm not keen on parting with it just yet. She's the bastard child of the Devil himself, I tell you!"

Alys's theatrical slapping of the table drowned out a sudden metal crunch that only Arielle heard. Her eyes darted to Eden and saw the goblet in her hand, now disfigured and crumpled, the cider spilling out in a tiny stream. Eden's eyes were almost burning holes into the table, her knuckles white, the muscles in her forearm tense almost to the point of snapping.

Arielle reached out and placed her hand on Eden's, trying to pry the goblet away from her grasp and finding a surprisingly immense strength that wouldn't let go. She looked at the guardian who continued to stare at the table, the goblet lightly beginning to shake.

"Eden..." Arielle whispered soothingly, wrapping her other hand around the warrior's, no longer prying, but just holding, "Hey... Eden... Let go... It's alright..."

The bard could almost hear the couple's words reeking havoc in Eden's mind and silently cursed them.

"Eden... Eden, look at me... Come on, look at me..."

The near pleading she heard caused Eden to raise her head and look at the bard. Arielle saw two intense seas of blue filled with both angry hurt and deep sadness and she almost lost herself in them. She took a deeper breath and gave the guardian a gentle squeeze.

"It's alright Eden... It's okay..." Arielle tried to convince.

The warrior was teetering on a razor edge of simply getting up and turning the travelers into a meat pie. She felt offended, disgraced, and simply hurt. She could take the heavy burden of the things she had done. Yet the things she hadn't done weren't her weight to bear, but she seemed to be carrying it anyway and Eden didn't understand why. She didn't expect towns to be named in her honor even if she did good deeds for the rest of her lifetime, but this? What was the point of change then? Why try? How could she change anything when the chosen one of God was despised by a follower of that same God? She looked at the bard with her silent question. _Don't I carry enough already? Haven't I gone through enough?_ Arielle thought her heart might break if those eyes peered at her any longer.

"Eden, it's alright. It's fine... There's no one else here, just you and me. Just you and me, alright?" Arielle began to soothe, absently stroking the warrior's hand. "There's no threat here, no enemy... Take a deep breath... There you go... Another... That's right... It's just you and me here..."

Eden's grip slackened and the bard was able to pull the goblet from her hand. Yet once the goblet was gone, she simply took the warrior's hand back in her own. Arielle gently stroked the guardian's hand as her breathing returned to normal and the tension from her body evaporated, the deep seas of her eyes turning back into still, shaded pools.

Eden slowly gathered her anger under control, a worry now creeping in of what the bard might think of her. _Does she believe the stories? Absurd question, why wouldn't she?_ Yet, Arielle didn't. The bard didn't even really know why; Eden told her next to nothing. Yet, there was a voice inside her that told her that the stories were not to be believed and that the true story lay deeper beneath the surface. That was truly the only story the bard was interested in.

As Eden calmed, Arielle's anger grew. There was something that disturbed her to a great deal to see the warrior in such a state. It almost felt as if she had been offended herself. Eden noticed distant lightning begin to roll through the forest green eyes. The guardian gave the blond a sad smile and her hands a gentle squeeze and held it. The grasp told her that there was no reason to get into a dispute or fight over it. This was enough. Arielle understood and the lightning faded away. Once they were both calm, they released each other's hands like it meant nothing much in order to try to cover up how much it really meant.

"Let's get out of here." Arielle said, flashing a smile towards the guardian.

They got up to leave and were halfway towards the door when Arielle suddenly stopped, a decisive look on her face.

"Could you wait for a minute, please?" Arielle said flatly and turned back to the couple when Eden gave her a nod.

She approached their table, her shoulders squared back, her walk determined. Despite the lack of violence or strength in the bard, a spark in her eyes demonstrated that she was serious and her solid stance made her seem to almost loom over the traveling pair.

"This is as suitable for drinking as you are for calling yourself a Christian." Arielle spat, tossing the deformed goblet between the surprised couple.

Before they could say anything, she turned on her heel and stormed off to the other end of the tavern. Despite her anger, Eden didn't fail to notice the small, warm chuckle that stayed in her throat at the sight of the irritated blond and her emotional defense of the guardian.

They moved to say goodbye to Berta right before they left.

"Ah, so you're going then, are you? Well, God speed to the both of you. And you stay out of trouble, little one, see?"

"Oh, Berta. There's no need to worry about that at all." Arielle commented, putting her hand lightly on the warrior's shoulder and getting a small shrug from Eden.

"Yes, well, you can never be too careful around shifty bastards, see? Can be real shifty and the like, see?" Berta persisted.

"I'll- we'll be careful, Berta, thank you. I'll be sure to tell everyone of your wonderful hospitality."

"Oh... well... thank you miss." Berta said, a slight blush rising in her cheeks, "If you're ever around in Tyre again, you look up ol' Berta, see? Will always got a room for you, see?"

"Of course!" Arielle said, giving the tavern keeper a radiant smile that she couldn't help but return.

Berta's gaze then turned to Eden who was standing there with as much expression on her face as the tavern walls. Eden gave Berta a solemn nod, expressing all she needed to in it and Berta returned it.

"God speed, friends." Berta said and waved her hand once as the two women left the tavern.

They walked out and went to their horses. They checked and adjusted their saddles, bags, and equipment. They mounted their horses and turned towards the main gates of Tyre.

"I guess that makes us tied for coming to each other's defense." Eden said to Arielle quietly, staring down at one of the reins she began to play with awkwardly.

"Yes, I guess it does." Arielle answered with a wide smile, again reading into what Eden had really wanted to say.

* * *

Author's Note: As these two ladies near Jerusalem, the plot with thicken with new characters and a small earthquake in the storyline ;) Also, I just wanted to say that I'm loving your support and enjoying your reviews!


	17. Chapter 17

"Eden, look!" the bard cried out cheerfully and blew on the head of a dandelion.

The little white seeds flew upwards and floated around, dancing on the slight breeze. Arielle watched them with a big grin. And Eden watched the happy bard, eyes full of awe and it brought a smile to her face. There was a weight that had been lifted from the guardian's shoulders and as she watched the bard's childlike gaze follow the drifting dandelion seeds, Eden finally felt a lightness return to her own breathing. They traveled slowly, stopping regularly to give Arielle enough rest. Now only the occasional stray cough was all that was left of the sickness that had scared Eden so much. She would never admit how frightened she really was then. And she would never admit how much she envied the bard's innocent wonder now. She stood, her arms folded across her chest, unable to do anything else but... smile.

Arielle practically beamed with happiness. She was happy to finally be well, to be outside, to be on the road again. She was so ecstatic that she almost had a hard time keeping still on her horse, which Xanthus would ask her to do every once in a while with a loud snort and whinny. Every time they stopped for a break on their first day back on the road, the bard would jump off her saddle and go running off through the field, amongst the trees or shrubs, or even just across the dusty ground. Eden would watch the bard running gleefully, her arms outstretched like a bird soaring through the sky, her laughter filling the air and the holes in Eden's spirit. 'Eden, I'm flying!' she would cry out in a joy Eden had almost thought no longer existed in the world. And the guardian would say nothing, but would look on so proud, so content, so...

The bard broke her thoughts when she ran up to Eden with another dandelion in her hand.

"Now it's your turn." Arielle announced cheerfully and slightly breathlessly.

Eden gave a small scowl at the idea.

"Oh, please, Eden. You can't be so serious and gloomy all the time. No one's watching..." she coaxed, waggling her eyebrows.

Eden raised one of her eyebrows.

"What's the point?"

"Does there always have to be one? Just make a wish!"

The warrior remained unmoved and the bard could see that this time her cause was lost.

"Oh, you're no fun sometimes." Arielle complained and gave out a big huff.

Dandelion seeds flew forward and covered the warrior. The bard stared in shock for a moment at the glowering warrior dressed in a dandelion blanket. But the shock disappeared and Arielle clutched her mouth with both hands, but the laugh found its way out anyway. After that, Arielle found it nearly impossible to control her laughter and it rang out through the air as she clutched her sides and nearly doubled over. Eden raised her eyebrow again and put her hands on her hips.

"Oh, so you think this is funny, hm?" Eden said in a lower tone than usual, picking off one seed that was tickling her nose.

Arielle darted her innocent gaze back to Eden, laughing through her closed mouth, yet her eyes betraying an appearing doubt that the warrior may be angry with her.

"Well, I guess there's nothing else to do but... get my revenge." Eden hissed in a feigned threat, the twinkling in her eyes giving her away.

Arielle squealed merrily, jumped up, and turned to run when she saw Eden lunge at her in an attempt to catch her. Eden knew she could outrun Arielle easily, but let the bard keep ahead of her for a while. Eden steered them into a small field of dandelions. They ran through it, kicking up the white heads left and right, the seeds shooting up into the sky and covering the two women from head to toe. Arielle gave out joyful cries, like a little child with a pocket full of honey covered figs in the middle of a fantastic summer day's festival as Eden continually playfully threatened that she was going to catch the blond. When the whole field of dandelions seemed to have already found its way onto their clothes, Eden finally caught up with the tiring bard, grabbed her from behind in her strong arms, and picked her up. Arielle squealed almost breathlessly, halfheartedly trying to break free and Eden let them safely tumble back onto the ground amongst the disturbed dandelions. Eden loosened her arms and the bard rolled off of her and onto her side, propping her head up on her hand.

"Eden... I think... I think you may have just had... fun." Arielle announced.

Eden knotted her brows and scowled at her hands as she lifted them in front of her face, turning them several times. She then put her hands down and turned to the bard with a look of confusion.

"And I didn't burst into flames? How curious..." Eden stated in theatrical shock.

Arielle laughed and poked the guardian gently in the shoulder.

"Oh, Eden, what am I going to do with you?"

Eden's spirit seemed to bask in the moment. She noticed the smell of the earth, the dandelions, and that indescribable, beautiful scent that was simply Arielle. The sun shone on Arielle as if it was meant to shine only on her, highlighting her blond hair and turning it into gold, warming her skin and brightening her smile. The seeds tickled her skin like the bard's giggles tickled her worn soul. Eden felt so... at ease. _Let me stay here. In this moment. With you._

Eden gave Arielle a smile and then turned her gaze up into the clouds.

"That looks like a mace to me." she said simply, pointing up into the sky.

"That one? I see an apple tree." Arielle noted happily after lying down on her back and shifting a little closer to Eden so their shoulders touched.

"An apple tree? Huh..."

"That one to your left looks exactly like a fish."

"A fish? I see a spearhead."

"Well, you would. Eden, look, it has a tail at the end and everything. How is that a spearhead?" Arielle playfully countered with a sigh.

"I'll have you know that I've seen some very decorative spearheads." Eden noted lightly.

"Eh... Oh, what about that one? The one that looks like a fishing rod."

"That's a good one."

"Eden... did we just agree on the shape of a cloud?" Arielle asked in slight surprise.

"Well, no. Because if I squint, I can see a pike."

"I'm going to go mad someday." Arielle bantered, letting her hand fall softly over her eyes.

Eden let out a soft chuckle. An easy silence covered them. They listened to the quiet and their own breathing. And unknowingly they were thinking the same thing- how something so unbelievably ordinary like a warm, sunny, quiet day could be so rich in itself and bring such... happiness? Eden almost wanted to laugh at the thought. _Is it at all possible that I could be in any way happy?_ She turned her face a little to look at the bard, somewhat surprised when she saw the bard do the exact same. They looked at each other with a calm they weren't aware was theirs and with an understanding of something they still knew nothing of.

Eden sighed lightly and turned her gaze back up into the clouds. She remembered that Jerusalem was not all that far off and chastised herself for growing attached to the bard. They would enter the Holy City, part ways, and that would be that. _No, I can't be happy._

"I think we need to get moving." Eden said flatly and didn't notice Arielle's face fall slightly.

"I know... It's just... If... Right, let's go then." the blond sighed and started to get up.

Eden observed Arielle as they both rose, dusting themselves off from the seeds as they cleared the field. She felt a strange hint of sadness and longing in Arielle and wondered what its source was. Arielle glanced quickly over her shoulder at the field and then turned back to their horses.

"Hey," Eden said suddenly, stopping and looking straight at Arielle, "these aren't the last dandelions we'll ever see."

Arielle smiled and nodded, trying to appreciate the comment. What the bard didn't say was that the dwindling distance to Jerusalem was giving way to a growing apprehension over what would happen after they reached the city. She had planned to reach Jerusalem and then return home. But her pilgrimage had turned into something so much more than that and far beyond what she could have imagined. And now she found that she didn't really want it to end. Rather naively she clung to the idea that if they never reached Jerusalem, then their adventures would never have to end. Most importantly, she didn't want to leave Eden behind. Being with Eden had made her realize how truly lonely she had been before. And she didn't want to return to that. It was one of many things that Arielle began to notice she didn't want to return to.

* * *

Arielle kept her personal promise. Once they were back on the road, the bard took every opportunity she could to learn some weaponry skill or work on her agility and strength. Arielle's sudden intense interest in her physical condition first struck the guardian as a little strange, but she helped the bard with drills and exercises anyway. Arielle took it seriously and never complained of something being too difficult or of being sore, but just grit her teeth with a determination that could almost match the warrior's. And Eden didn't say anything, but she saw it and was proud of the young bard.

When the bard was practicing her defensive sword moves, Eden would usually train along with her, inserting calm instruction when and where needed. Eden was still reluctant to spar, but did it when the bard asked with less complaint and fewer excuses. And after a few times, Arielle got carried away with herself.

"You know, I'm really beginning to feel stronger." Arielle told the warrior confidently after putting her sword down.

"Good."

"But it's difficult for me to judge, you know? I have nothing to compare myself to... Would you... maybe... wrestle with me?"

Eden nearly dropped her sword.

"What?! Are you mad?!" Eden cried out, looking at the bard as if she had just grown horns.

The green eyes flickered with a slightly menacing stubborn determination that Eden knew meant trouble. Big trouble.

"It's just wrestling." Arielle said as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Absolutely not. I am not wrestling with you."

"Why not?"

"Because you could get hurt."

"You don't hurt me during our sparring. Why would this be any different?"

"Because it's not at sword's length anymore... there's no room to escape..."

Arielle sighed and tried to attack from a different side.

"Alright, well then could you at least show me some moves. You know, if someone grabs me so that I can try to break loose."

Eden eyed Arielle warily. The request seemed fair, but the warrior couldn't quiet a voice in the back of her head telling her that it was a bad idea.

"I really don't think that's necessary." Eden stated.

"Of course it's necessary. Remember the raider that tried to walk off with me or that Turkish warrior who attacked me?"

Eden winced internally at the memories. She stared at the ground, trying to find a way out of the situation.

"It's not because you're scared, is it?" the bard asked, a slight tease in her voice.

That was Arielle's first mistake. Eden lifted her head and stared unemotionally at her.

"I am not scared. I just don't think that it's a good idea." she explained coolly, her nerves beginning to send off sparks within her at the comment.

"Come on, Eden, what's the worst that can happen? I'll go easy on you." Arielle continued to recklessly banter.

"Fine."

Eden dropped her weapons and quickly stripped herself of her armor as the slightly stunned bard realized that she had gotten her way and did the same, an excited smile crossing her face. Eden knew better, but there were a few things that she just couldn't stand and teasing her was one of them. Eden approached Arielle and stood in front of her, taking a few deep breaths, trying to keep herself under control. She first started with some explanation, calculating that the time would dissipate her anger. Then they wrestled a little, Eden showing her different moves. Arielle tried hard to pin the warrior down while Eden tried hard not to break the bard in two. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Eden did in fact notice the growing strength of the bard, the firmer and some even larger muscles straining under her grip. Yet, in the end, it was always the blond who ended up on her back in the dust.

"You are getting stronger." Eden told Arielle, dusting off her hands when they had finally finished practicing.

"Yes, well, not nearly enough to defeat you." Arielle complained somewhat, trying to loosen her tight shoulders.

"One day, Arielle..."

Eden gave her a faint grin and then turned around, walking back to where she had left her weapons and armor. A severely mischievous grin crossed Arielle's face and she paced up quietly behind the warrior and then lunged at her back with a yell. And that was the blond's second mistake.

Eden suddenly turned around, grabbing the bard in mid air and flipping her over her shoulder and pinning her to the ground with a loud thud, knocking the wind out of the blond and kicking up dust around them.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Eden snarled at the stunned younger woman, her fists clenched full of the bard's shirt, "You want to be killed?!"

"I'm, I'm, I'm sorry... I just..." Arielle stammered and then gave up.

"Don't ever do that again. I hate it when people sneak up behind me. Do you understand me?"

Arielle only nodded. Eden sighed with disgust, let the bard go somewhat roughly, got up, and stomped off towards her things. Arielle lay on the ground a little while longer, trying to catch her breath and collect her thoughts. She began to realize how far she had overstepped Eden's tentative boundaries. She wanted to throw herself under a cart for her foolishness. Putting herself in danger was one thing, but she also realized what the warrior would have felt if she had indeed done her harm. _Your father was right, you are nothing more than a childish fool, Arielle of Avignon..._

Arielle finally got up, dusted herself off, and padded over to pick up her things and go back to the horses. Eden was already there, stroking Arion's muzzle.

"Eden, I'm-"

"Not now. I don't want to talk about it." Eden snapped.

"Eden, please-"

"Not. Now." Eden repeated impatiently and after seeing the hurt confusion in the bard's eyes, softened her tone, "Just not now, please..."

"Alright." the bard conceded.

It was a few hours later when they had stopped in the shade of an olive tree to eat that Eden finally spoke.

"I don't like it when someone sneaks up on me from behind. Whatever happens next is simply a reaction. Usually an uncontrollable and very violent one. That's why it's dangerous... even for you. And that's why I stomped off... to calm down... Otherwise..." Eden explained quietly.

"Eden, I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

"Of course you didn't, how could you?" Eden admitted and then grew quieter, "Once... some time ago, someone attacked me from behind. He lifted me up, strangling me with his arm around my neck. I remembered the fear... and helplessness I felt. And I can feel it to this day..."

"Well, I'm sure you quickly taught that man a lesson." Arielle said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Actually, no. I just bit his arm and he let me go... I was just a child then." Eden said softly, staring off into the horizon, "And the man was my father..."

Arielle didn't know what to say.

* * *

As they neared Acre, the two women noticed a rider coming towards them. Arielle automatically grew tense, but saw that Eden didn't stop or even slow down after having noticed him. The rider's black tunic bearing a large white cross identified him as a Knight Hospitaller. Arielle grew excited, she had never met a real Hospitaller and the stories about them varied though never as much as those about Templars. Eden and the Hospitaller continued on their way, headed straight for each other as if they hadn't noticed each other's presence at all. They only finally stopped when they ended up face to face, blocking each other's way.

"Well, well, well," Eden drawled, leaning her forearms on the pommel of her saddle, "what do we have here? Looks like a Hospitaller stray."

"Looks more like a renegade blocking a Hospitaller's path." the knight replied.

The Hospitaller sat straight, holding the reins lazily in his hands. Arielle noticed the daunting presence of the knight. He was armed in chainmail from head to foot, his black tunic fastened by a tunic belt and then wrapped by a thicker sword belt. He wore a cape identical to his tunic and a shield in the same colors hung from is back. The black color and rawness of his dress, Arielle mused, made him look more like a knight of death than a kindhearted Christian warrior.

"Oh forgive me, I must have missed the sign that stated that this road belongs to you."

"It's right here." the knight replied, pointing to the cross on his tunic.

"So you think you're awfully smart, don't you?" Eden said, dismounting abruptly and stomping towards him as he did the same.

"And you think you're so frightening, hm?"

They stood in each other's faces threateningly and Arielle nervously reached for her bow.

"You'll never change." Eden spat.

"Neither will you." the Hospitaller spat back.

"I wouldn't want it any other way." Eden admitted, suddenly softening.

"Neither would I." the Hospitaller replied, a wide smile crossing his lips.

They let out a laugh and threw themselves into a long, strong hug while Arielle stared at them, completely dumbfounded.

"I knew you would come." Eden said softly.

"I knew you needed me to. Plus, I have to take care of some things in Acre anyway so it was on my way." he replied.

"Ehem!" Arielle let out, clearing her throat loudly.

They turned around, both smiling at the glaring blond.

"Arielle, this is my good friend Lawrence. He was the one I wanted to see in Jerusalem. It seems Jerusalem came to us." Eden introduced warmly as Arielle dismounted.

Arielle gazed at Lawrence. His eyes were an incredible sky blue that bordered on light gray. His hair was short, blown into a fitting disarray by the desert winds, and was only slightly darker than the sands surrounding them. He had a lean, muscular build and was a little taller than Eden which made him about a head taller than Arielle. Yet, what was amazing about him was the warmth that emanated from him. His sword and armor gave every indication that he was a serious and seasoned warrior, yet the tranquility that radiated from him gave Arielle the impression that he wouldn't even harm a breeze. There was something indescribably gentle in his movements, a friendly smile on his face nearly permanently, a warm tone in his soft voice. And his eyes seemed to say that they had seen every affliction man could know, understood them, and took pity.

"I'm very pleased to meet you Arielle." Lawrence said, shaking her hand and bowing slightly, almost making Arielle blush like a little girl, "I've heard much about you."

Arielle gave him a confused glance and Eden gave him a look like she wanted to boil him in oil as a blush began to warm her face.

"But if I may say something," Lawrence added quickly, seeing his blunder and releasing Arielle's hand, "please don't make the mistake of greeting everyone of a military order like this."

"Well, I'm pleased to meet your acquaintance." Arielle stated, curtsying in a manner that betrayed her more privileged upbringing.

"Don't we all generally know each other?" Eden grumbled, rolling her eyes at all the formalities, "I'm beginning to feel a little underdressed for the occasion."

Lawrence and Arielle let out a somewhat nervous chuckle which cleared the tension a little.

"So you say that Eden isn't as friendly towards all Christian warriors like towards you?" Arielle asked, the corner of her mouth rising mischievously.

"Definitely not." Lawrence chuckled, "Though not for lack of other Christian warriors trying. And some of them do try ever so hard."

"Let me guess- Garrett?" Eden asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Who else?" he sighed, lifting his hands with a shrug, "He... asked about you."

"I'm sure he did." Eden snorted.

Lawrence let out a small chuckle and smiled while Arielle eyed the guardian somewhat suspiciously.

"Come," he said, grabbing the reins of his horse and turning back towards Acre, motioning for them to do the same, "tell me of Antioch."

* * *

"Thank you for coming, Lawrence." Eden said.

"Oh, Eden, you know I couldn't have done differently." Lawrence replied gently.

"Still..."

They walked at a leisurely pace alongside each other through the quieter evening streets of Acre, enjoying the pleasant weather. Relatively safe within the practically impenetrable fortifications of the city, they had both left their metal armor behind. Lawrence hooked his hands on his sword belt while Eden carried hers locked behind her back.

"I felt the pain... I felt a great fear..." Lawrence mentioned quietly.

"Yes..." Eden sighed and absently scanned the rooftops of the buildings in front of her, "Arielle was very ill... very ill..."

"Well, I'm glad that she's well again. She seems to be very nice... very special." he said with a smile.

"Yes..."

To the both of them it almost seemed as if they had never been apart when it had, in fact, been months if not years since she had really talked to him. Eden couldn't remember exactly how long, some of the times of her life remained an ugly blur to her. It was a special bond they both knew they shared; they always seemed to be together no matter how far off, no matter how far gone.

"Eden, you were right to call for me." Lawrence stated with a heavy sigh.

"What have you seen?" Eden asked, concern tightening her voice.

"Not much. And probably not anything that you haven't seen yourself. But there is something amiss. Dark clouds gather on the horizon and there is something foul in the air. Something is awakening and seems to be coming for us."

"A demon?"

"Probably. And it seems that it has some special sight for Arielle." Lawrence explained as Eden turned and looked at him with solemn concern, "She appeared in a vision, shrouded in darkness until there was no more of her. And a battlefield covered in fallen knights, Hospitallers, Templars, and others..."

"Who is this demon?"

"I don't know." he admitted and then turned to Eden, putting his hands on her shoulders, "Don't worry. Be vigilant as you always are and we will know soon enough. And I won't be far behind."

"As usual." Eden added with a faint smile.

"As usual." Lawrence repeated with a grin.

* * *

"Remember when we would do this when we were children?" Lawrence asked, pulling a few apricots neatly in half and taking out the seed.

"Yes..." Eden answered and then turned to Arielle who was sitting beside her, "We used to climb up to the rooftop of a building next to the armorer back at home."

"We would sit there for hours listening to the armorer working. We loved that clanging of metal, the roar of the forge." Lawrence added.

"Didn't anyone come looking for you?" Arielle asked, picking at a pomegranate.

"The building was abandoned and everyone was convinced it housed evil spirits. No one would dare search up there."

"That seems nice..." Arielle mused, "I always wished for that kind of escape when I was a child. But it seemed that there was no place to runaway to on my father's lands... nowhere to hide..."

Arielle looked up when she noticed the silence that fell. Eden studied her with intense blue eyes and Lawrence looked at her in sympathy.

"So what brings you here to Acre, Lawrence?" Arielle asked quickly, desperate for a change of subject.

"I have some business with the Templars."

"I've heard many stories about the Knights Templar. I don't think I've actually met one in real life."

"Well, they're a specific type... Not too bloodthirsty, but not too saintly." Lawrence chuckled, "You'll have your fill of them in Jerusalem."

"Do you know any Templars?" Arielle asked Eden, her eyes widening in curiosity.

"Oh, all too well..." Eden replied, rolling her eyes as Lawrence snickered quietly.

Arielle gave her a confused look and then shrugged her shoulders, seeing that the warrior didn't seem to want to elaborate.

"Here, you look a little thin to me." Lawrence mentioned, handing Eden a piece of mutton from the food he brought.

"Huh, well, if you traveled with this bottomless pit here, you'd be too." Eden quipped, biting into the meat.

"Hey! It's not like I eat you out of house and home!" Arielle protested until she saw that some mutton still remained and pointed at it sheepishly, "Can I have some too?"

The warrior and Hospitaller looked at Arielle and all three burst into laughter. They divided the rest of the food and ate quietly, the two women happy to eat something different than what they had on the road.

"I'll go check on Arion for a minute. Please don't get into any trouble before I get back." Eden said, getting up and dusting herself off.

A few moments of quiet fell between them after the guardian left and Arielle studied the Hospitaller with curiosity.

"You two seem to be quite close." Arielle ventured with intrigue, "How long have you known her?"

"Oh, quite a while. We grew up together. Our roads diverged when we became adolescents. Yet, I guess our paths never fully separated, despite everything."

"She seems very... fond of you."

Lawrence chuckled softly and looked at the bard.

"Eden's like a sister to me." Lawrence said warmly, "She is family as if she was of my own flesh and blood."

Arielle leaned back against the chimney and sighed.

"It's strange," the bard mused, "I have a sister of true flesh and blood and I don't think that we're as close as you and Eden are. That trust and comfort you both seem to share... it's something to be envied..."

Lawrence studied the bard. Her shoulders slumped when she released a heavy sigh and he noticed a faint sadness blanket her eyes.

"Well, it was a lifetime of hard work. And continues to be." he admitted gently.

"Yes, I can imagine that you're probably the only one in this world that she really trusts." she noted, not fully hiding her misgiving at the statement.

Lawrence popped a dried date into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully for a while.

"It's not you that she doesn't trust, Arielle." he explained slowly, "It's herself. She knows she's dangerous, she has the potential to easily take a life. She also knows all too well what it's like to lose something dear... It's all because her love and trust are as strong as her anger can be. That's why she just doesn't let herself even think about it. In the end, she's a warrior and dying is much easier when there is no one to leave behind."

Arielle knotted her brows over the interesting revelation. She had never thought of any type of love in that way. Everyone in the world seemed to be frantically searching for love, never thinking that they would have to bear the loss of it. Eden, on the other hand, decided that if she didn't want to ever lose love, then she couldn't ever find it to begin with. She felt a heavy sadness in her heart for the warrior who was faced with this decision between the lesser of two completely heartless evils. _Is that why you're so angry, Eden? Is that why you are so inapproachable and locked away? Is that why you so stubbornly hide the beauty I see in you?... Does anyone else see it? And would you ever show it? How much of you is you and how much is just your armor protecting you from the world?_

"To be honest, she scares me a little." the bard admitted quietly.

"Oh, well, she scares most people." Lawrence acknowledged, chuckling lightly. "It's a shame too, she's no one to be feared."

"I'm sorry, are we talking about the same person?" the bard asked with light sarcasm.

"Let me rephrase that. She's no one to be feared by those she holds dear. She is very loyal and protective."

The bard looked at Lawrence with a quizzical expression that he couldn't help but notice.

"Is she really?"

"Oh yes. You know, even when she was a desert raider and she roamed these lands, she never hurt me. What's more, she never let harm be done to me. And I knew that. She gave me her word, her promise and that's probably the holiest thing for her, the only thing she never went back upon. Even under the power of the greatest demons, she kept her word."

Arielle let the new picture of her friend appear in front of her eyes. Yet, she realized it wasn't an entirely new picture, but more of an image that was slowly shifting into focus.

"I see her often, balancing on that thin edge where it only takes an idle breath to push her over into the darkness. I'm always scared she'll make that fall."

"But she doesn't, does she?" Lawrence noticed.

Arielle said nothing, peering at the knight with interest.

"Arielle, you've probably chosen the most complicated person on the earth to befriend; she's a walking contradiction. Most of the things that she pretends annoy her, she actually loves. Like me, for example." Lawrence explained, adding a small wink and then becoming more serious again, "The things she loves, she loves more than she lets on. She veils herself in secrecy, but yearns to have a person to tell everything to. She laughs when she hurts, is quiet when she bleeds. She doesn't believe in the things she would give her sword arm to believe in. She follows a path she hardly trusts at all. It breaks a good man's heart, you know? She'll push you away when all she wants is to be held. And if you need to be held, she'll hold you even if it kills her..."

The bard recalled the times when Eden held her. The warrior would lock her protective arms around the bard without a single word or complaint. The same woman who did not like to be touched would allow herself to be practically blanketed by the blond. Arielle absorbed the description of a person whom she had thought she only imagined was there. Eden kept everything so well hidden that sometimes the bard gave up on dragging things out into the open for fear that maybe they didn't exist at all.

She observed Lawrence as he dug a few extra dates from his pocket and chewed on them slowly. He seemed to be the complete opposite of Eden. He was so open, kind, and appeared to be at a great peace. Here they had just met and he was talking to her like he would to a friend whom he had known for years. And yet he seemed to understand Eden so well and they were like family to each other. And he must have been someone dear to Eden, the bard mused, to be able to speak so freely of the warrior without the slightest fear of getting his head hacked off. The blond felt an inexplicable pang of jealousy go through her. Here she was, admitting out loud that Eden frightened her and then she felt envious of the close ties between the warriors.

"Don't feel jealous. You will know more than I do soon enough." Lawrence told the bard with a warm smile.

Arielle saw a strange light flicker in the Hospitaller's eyes and her own widened in such surprise that she didn't fully register what he said.

"How did you... You read... You know my thoughts?..." Arielle stammered out in bewilderment.

"Oh, were you thinking about that?" Lawrence asked, feigning innocence.

"Yes... How did you do that?"

"Because he's a guardian too." Eden replied, appearing behind the bard and walking back to her spot next to her and sitting down, "More specifically, he's a seer."

"A seer?"

"I have visions... in dreams, in prayer, or even just out of the blue. I can also sometimes read thoughts. Or at least the loud ones. In other words, we seers are the philosophers and thinkers in the family, gifted with a much-seeing eye. " Lawrence explained slightly theatrically.

"And a particularly interesting sense of humor from the looks of it." Eden added sarcastically and then turned to Arielle, "So whatever he read, you must have been thinking quite loudly. What was it?"

Arielle opened her mouth, but no words came out and instead a blush began to appear in her cheeks.

"You know, Eden is nearly impossible to read." Lawrence noted, trying to save the bard from the question, "There are ways to block the mindreading abilities of guardians... or demons for that matter. I can teach you some if you'd like."

Arielle nodded energetically and Lawrence smiled. Eden surveyed them both with a slightly suspicious look, but decided not to press the matter any further. Lawrence leaned against one chimney while the women leaned against the other, all of them full and content to have a little quiet time.

Lawrence secretly studied the young bard. He had only needed a few moments with Arielle to understand the strange yet strong attachment Eden had to her. She was a pretty, young woman, but there was something much more beyond that. He felt a warm, authentic empathy for others, a great need to help someone beyond herself radiate from her. He sensed a light hidden within her, embedded deeply, holding what he judged to be a power beyond any he had seen before. But he saw it lay dormant. Or perhaps it was just awaking, seeming to stir in Eden's presence. He found it curious that these two women happened to stumble upon one another in the middle of some desert and began to slowly dig things out from each other, tirelessly pulling up to the surface those things that they had both spent so much time burying.

He remembered the intense pain he had felt when Eden summoned him. She was one of very few outside the seers that had both learned of and mastered the ability to summon others through a mental link. She had summoned Lawrence over and over as Arielle lay near death in her arms and now he understood where that raw desperation had come from. When Arielle recovered, she had notified him that the danger was over, but he had decided to investigate what had terrified Eden that much to summon him anyway. It was unlike the warrior and it scared him. Yet, for him, it was enough to look into the bard's eyes.

And then Arielle suddenly jolted upright.

"Lawrence, you said the mindreading abilities of guardians, right?" she asked almost in a panic.

"Yes... Why..."

Lawrence saw the blood slowly drain from Arielle's face as her eyes moved slightly in Eden's direction. And then Lawrence understood.

"Not all guardians can see the same. Eden has..." he explained and then suddenly stopped, glancing at the warrior.

Eden gave a barely noticeable nod and Lawrence turned back to the blond.

"Eden has a general sense of thoughts and energies around her, sometimes she has visions, especially in dreams. To be truthful, her sense is much stronger than in other warriors. Some don't possess it at all. But she doesn't possess the same abilities I do."

Arielle visibly calmed and slowly relaxed back against the chimney.

"So I can see you must have been thinking only good thoughts of me." Eden commented sarcastically with one eyebrow up.

"No, it's not that... I.. It's just... My thoughts are private, that's all." Arielle argued, still a little flustered.

They sat around quietly for a while, watching the sun slowly lower itself in the sky turning the white light slowly into gold. Arielle began to realize how much there was in the world that she had no idea even existed. Here she was on an idle roof in Acre sitting in the company of two guardians who were her friends. Her eyes drifted to the sky with a single thought that suddenly entered her mind- that maybe there was much more to life than she thought. That the world was not just what she saw, but actually had several different layers, each different but all together comprising a complete whole. And that's when the seed was sown. A seed of light and faith that settled in the core of her being and finally took root.

"How about we get down from here?" Lawrence asked the two women.

"Well, I don't know. What am I thinking?" Arielle challenged, a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

"Oh, young bard, it doesn't work that way." Lawrence said with a chuckle, "You see, I can't hear or see everything in your head. Only the more important things. Especially those things tied to great or powerful emotions. So, I don't know what Eden wants to eat for supper, but if she fell in love with me, I would probably know."

"Are you serious?" Eden growled slightly, tossing the knight a displeased look.

"I needed an example!" Lawrence said in his defense and raised his hands with a shrug.

Eden only rolled her eyes and raised herself to her feet and Arielle followed her. The bard was then strangely struck by the sight of the warrior. Eden stood out against the light of the ending day. The sun covered her in a golden aura and Arielle couldn't help but notice that the sacral tone that that light seemed to give Eden did her a great justice. The rays highlighted the features of her face and body; the power of her muscles and the delicacy of her quiet stare intertwined together in the glow. It was almost as if the light lit up all that was good in her for all and God to see. _She is... stunning in this light... and beautiful._

"I heard that." Lawrence said, his arms folded across his chest and with a large grin on his face.

Arielle shot him a flustered look as a blush began to creep into her cheeks.

"Can someone please tell me what's going on?" Eden asked in exasperation, placing her hands on her hips.

"Can we please get off this roof?!" Arielle asked in even greater exasperation and quickly walked to the roof edge and down the ladder, leaving a confused Eden and chuckling Lawrence behind.

* * *

"Lawrence seems to be a very nice man." Arielle noted.

"Yes, he is." Eden replied, not taking her eyes off the journal she was writing in.

"Do you... like him?"

Eden took a slow, deep breath, put her quill down, and leaned back in her chair. The bard was looking at her from across their room at the inn, sitting on the bed, her back against the wall and the covers over her raised knees, holding a cup of steaming cider.

"Why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering."

Eden crossed her arms and kept her eyes on the bard, patiently waiting for what she knew was going to come next. The bard kept quiet for about a minute until she couldn't take it anymore.

"Oh, Eden, don't tell me that you don't see it. He's a warrior, tall, somewhat sandy, and handsome. The two of you are perfect for each other!" Arielle explained with excitement.

Eden's only response was a slight snort and raised brow.

"Eden, you can't tell me that you don't find him... appealing."

"Yes, he is handsome if that's what you mean." Eden shrugged.

"Well then what's the problem? He obviously likes you!"

"Arielle," Eden started with a deep sigh and uncrossing her arms, "I like Lawrence very much. But he's like a brother to me, he's the closest to family I have now."

Arielle's excitement dissipated into a more solemn seriousness at the admission. She studied the warrior closely.

"That's exactly what Lawrence said." Arielle admitted quietly.

"Hmpf... Really, I can't leave that guy alone for two minutes without having him start talking about me." Eden noted, shaking her head slightly, "What else did he say about me?"

"Only good things. Nothing much that I didn't already know." the bard said with a small smile.

"He rarely says bad things about others. Unlike me..." the warrior mused and then shifted in her chair a little, folding her arms over her chest again, "I've known him since I can remember; we grew up together. We had the same... predisposition. He was the only one I could share that with, talk to about. He didn't make me feel like an outcast... And I did the same for him."

"But you both are still so different."

"Yes... Well, our lives took different roads... I don't think I've ever met a person who knows Lawrence and didn't like him. Why he still hangs around me is a mystery to me sometimes..." Eden told the bard and then a smile appeared in the corner of her mouth, "So, I'm sorry, Arielle. No romance here..."

Arielle rolled her eyes, caught red-handed, and stared into her cider.

"Didn't you ever think of having a family of your own?" Arielle asked quietly after a few moments.

"Maybe... once... but not anymore."

"You don't want a husband? Children?"

"I gave up on the idea."

"Why? What happened?"

"I simply gave up on everything..."

Arielle sensed that it wasn't something to push so she said nothing more.

"And you?" Eden asked after a moment.

"Well, yes I think I would like to have a family... It's the natural way, I guess... My parents-"

"What do you want?" Eden interjected.

Arielle opened her mouth, but then closed it, realizing that she really didn't know. Truthfully, no one had ever bothered to ask her. And she had never really thought about it since she had never been offered any alternative. Arielle found it hard to admit to herself that there was something in her travels and adventures with Eden that was drawing her in, tempting her to leave behind the world and life she thought she knew and was meant for. Yet despite its excitement, this new life also evoked fear within her; the fear of the unknown and unchartered. Arielle chewed her lower lip in thought, now aware that she was caught between both worlds and was too excited to choose the one she came from, but also too timid to choose the one standing before her.


End file.
